Based on the 1925 real case "Monkey trial" (also known as the "Skopps case"). An American high school biology teacher has been sued by the state for teaching evolution in the classroom. The case caused a sensation throughout the United States, with church forces coming to the town for support, professors, scientists, and other fronts to support it, coupled with continuous media reports, which immediately made the town lively. Politician Matthew Harrison Brady (Frederick March) appears in court on behalf of the prosecution, while defense lawyers are represented by famous lawyer Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy). During the trial, the two men clashed tit for tat and gradually became a century debate about evolution and Genesis, science and religion. The title of the film is taken from the Bible Proverbs 11:29, "he who harms his own house will inherit the breeze."