Based on a John Grisham novel, The Pelican Brief is the story of Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) who is a law school student. After two Supreme Court justices and her favorite law professor have been killed, Darby tries to find the connection between the two justices and what she knows. What she discovers gets her into more trouble than she ever thought. With the help of Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington), Darby tries to expose the connection she has found, while running from some dangerous people who want to hide what she has uncovered. Darby runs from Louisiana to Washington, D. C. to try and outrun the people who are after her while protecting what she knows. Can she let the story come out and stay alive in the process?