Willie Stark is an ordinary man from a rural town who demands that crooked politicians and shady businessmen in Louisiana be held accountable for the collapse of a poorly built school. When he decides to run for governor of Louisiana, he befriends Jack Burden, a young journalist who ends up working for him. However, when Stark asks Burden to investigate some damaging information on an old family friend, Burden questions his own morality and Stark's surprising transformation into an inflexible leader who will stop at nothing to remain in power.