In the late nineteenth century Alfred Dreyfus, a French army officer of Jewish heritage, is falsely accused of espionage. Found guilty of treason he is drummed out of the army and sent to prison on Devil's Island. His family take up the case of the wronged officer, as does the writer Emile Zola who believes the original investigation was marred by anti-Semitism. Eventually, the true culprit Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy is exposed.