A 19-year old boy has just stood trial for the fatal stabbing of his father. As the 12 jurors are taken into the bleak jury room, it looks like an open-and-shut case, until one of the jurors begins opening the others' eyes to the facts. One juror makes sure to note that "We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. We should not make it a personal thing." But personal it does become, with each juror revealing his or her own character as the various testimonies are re-examined, the murder is re-enacted and a new murder threat is born before their own eyes! Tempers get short, arguments grow heated, and the jurors become twelve angry people. The jurors' final verdict and how they reach it add up to a fine, mature piece of dramatic literature.