Judge James K. Hardy (Lionel Barrymore) causes an uproar in the small Midwestern town of Carvel when he issues a temporary order restraining the building of a nearby aqueduct. With contractor Hoyt Wells (Selmer Jackson) and newspaper publisher Frank Redmond (Charley Grapewin) threatening to get him thrown out of office, the entire town turns against the judge. The controversy even affects his family, including his teenage son, Andy (Mickey Rooney).