Emily Rose, a 19-year old American teenager, dies of self-inflicted wounds and malnutrition following an attempted exorcism. Father Richard Moore, the Catholic Church diocesan priest who attempted the exorcism is arrested and sent to court. While the archdiocese want Moore to plead guilty to minimize the crime's public attention, Moore instead plans to plead not guilty. Erin Bruner, an ambitious lawyer hoping to use the trial to become a senior partner in her law firm, takes on the case. Moore agrees to let her defend him if he can tell the truth behind Emily's story.