Academy Award-winner Al Pacino stars as a New York City mayor whose office comes under fire when a shoot-out between a hero cop and a Mafia-connected drug dealer leaves a small child dead in the taut political thriller City Hall. A populist leader who has captured the hearts of the city and mastered the art of the political high-wire act, Mayor John Pappas (Pacino) harbors ambitions for the presidency. Masterminding his campaign, a brilliant young political strategist, Kevin Calhoun (John Cusack), serves as the mayor's idealistic deputy. Their ambitious plans begin to unravel when suspicious events surrounding the deadly shoot-out rock the foundations of city hall.