We find ourselves in the courtroom of a small town in Hillsboro Tennessee, where a High School teacher is on trial for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. The lead prosecutor was fundamentalist and three-time presidential candidate Mathew Harrison Brady (William Jennings Bryan). The Baltimore Herald sends Henry Drummond (Clarence Darrow), a famous Chicago lawyer many distinguish as a cocksure agnostic to lead the defense. Shortly after the trial begins the defense attorney attempts to call several doctors to testify to the validity of Darwin's theory. Brady, interjects saying, the testimony of these men are irrelevant to the case. He further reinforces that the law governing this case is not on trial. The judge agrees with the prosecutor and prohibits the testimony of witness's of this category. .
After talking to Rachel Brown, the daughter of Reverend Brown and fiancé of the defendant, Mr. Brady calls her to testify about her personal conversations with the defendant, Bertram Cates. We watch as the prosecuting attorney emotionally tears the witness apart forcing her to testify under oath that her fiancé had quit the church. The prosecutor then assumes that Mr. Cates like his attorney, is an agnostic. At the request of his client Mr. Drummond declines the rights to cross examine the witness. After several outbursts the court charges Mr. Drummond with contempt and sets bail at 2000 dollars. Mr. Drummond continues his outburst saying, "Why not make it 4000 dollars- (Inherit the Wind). .
On the final day of the trial the defense calls the prosecuting attorney to the stand as an expert on religious matters. As the examination unfolds we see a climatic shift in the court room audience as Mr. Brady defends the literal truth of the bible against what he calls "Cates agnosticism- (Inherit the Wind). Drummond goes on to expose the blatant contradictions of this idea when Mr. Brady permits interpretation of the bible.