On January 11, 2000, a trial opened in London's High Court that would prove to be a crucial test of Holocaust "deniers." British author David Irving brought a libel action against Deborah Lipstadt, author of Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory. In her book, Lipstadt characterized Irving as a "Hitler partisan" who manipulated the historical record to deny the reality of the Holocaust. In seeking damages, Irving claimed that her book destroyed his reputation. Interwoven with dramatized sequences that re-create the courtroom testimony and arguments are documentary segments that explore evidence with the aid of historians Hugh Trevor-Roper and Robert Harris, and Auschwitz authority Robert Jan van Pelt, among others.

This program contains historical footage of the Holocaust that some viewers may find disturbing. Parental discretion is advised.