"The last of four films on controversial cases in the history of American jurisprudence, this documentary tells the story of the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for espionage. Set in the 1951 post World War II Cold War McCarthy era, the case exemplifies the hysteria of the times. The specter of a Communist threat gripped America, and red baiting was prevalent. The Rosenbergs were accused of passing secrets about the atomic bomb to the Russians in 1944 and 1945. They were prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917. Historians still debate whether or not the Rosenbergs actually were spies, but most agree that the so called secrets they are said to have transmitted were already available to the Russians. Their convictions and death sentences brought a storm of protest around the world. President Eisenhower refused to commute their sentences, and the Rosenbergs became the only Americans ever executed for espionage. They maintained their innocence to the end." - _Synopsis by Rose of Sharon Winter_