In 1925, Dr. Ossian and Gladys Sweet, young parents and newlyweds, purchase a home in a mostly white neighborhood on the east side of Detroit. At least four other Black families have been chased from their homes in the city by angry white mobs in previous months. The Sweets, fearful and defiant, enlist the help of nine friends and associates to help protect their property.

On the night of September 9, 1925, the group watches from inside the house as a mob of hundreds or thousands gathers and attacks, chanting and smashing windows. Police are helpless.

Somebody inside the house fires a gun and a white man falls dead. Police rush the house and arrest everyone on charges of first degree murder.

The Sweets and their nine friends prevail in court, affirming the universal right of self defense.