This is the story loosely based on Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, who introduced rock'n'roll to teenage American radio audiences in the 1950s. Freed was a source of great controversy: criticized by conservatives for corrupting youth with the "devil's music"; hated by racists for promoting African American music for white consumption; persecuted by law enforcement officials and finally brought down by the "payola" scandals.

A pair of detectives are assigned to investigate a murder, and discover a trail of corruption and criminal activity that leads right back to their own police department.

A documentary look inside the world of the early, unsung heroes of rock and roll whose voices shaped the music that endures.