The Intruder

Adam Cramer arrives in Caxton, a small Southern town facing compelled desegregation. He works for the Patrick Henry Society and intends to incite White resistance. With his confident, genial manner, he quickly wins the trust of many locals.

Cramer targets wealth and influence, persuading Verne Shipman to back his plan and lending legitimacy to the agitation. He leverages social ties to build a coalition among key townspeople. His influence begins to reshape how the town responds to desegregation.

Cramer turns his attention to Ella, the teenage daughter of editor Tom McDaniel, and seduces her to deepen his grip on the town's leadership. Her involvement helps him manipulate information and public opinion. His plan starts to spread through the local power structure.

Cramer delivers an inflammatory speech and organizes a cross burning in the Black neighborhood. The act sharpens fear and pushes some Whites toward violent impulses. The town's mood shifts from debate to intimidation.

Following the cross burning, White hostility escalates into concrete threats when a Black family is threatened in their car. The threat demonstrates the dangerous consequences of Cramer's manipulation. Tensions rise as more residents contemplate action rather than dialogue.

The Black church is bombed, killing the preacher and shocking the community. The violence exposes the real damage wrought by the prejudiced crowd. Desegregation now feels like a burning fuse inside Caxton.

Cramer is jailed for the church bombing, but the locals mobilize to secure his swift release. Their actions reveal the town's readiness to defend his cause against legal restraint. The episode shows how quickly public opinion can be harnessed for vengeance.

Cramer seduces Vi, the traveling salesman Sam Griffin's wife, in the hotel. The assault destabilizes Vi, who blames herself and leaves her husband. Griffin begins to plot revenge against Cramer.

Griffin confronts Cramer at gunpoint, but Cramer cannot pull the trigger. Griffin reveals that the bullets were removed, underscoring Cramer's fragility. He warns that the agitator's hold over Caxton will soon falter.

Tom McDaniel shows sympathy for the Black residents and commits to defending their right to education. He walks Black students to school past protesting Whites. His courage rallies some families to stand with the students.

At the White-high school's entrance, Cramer and Shipman push Ella to trap a Black classmate, Joey Green, by fabricating an accusation of rape. The mob forms in front of the school, fueled by manipulation. The danger of the plan becomes clear as the crowd grows.

Joey refuses to flee and faces the mob; Shipman beats him while the crowd mocks, setting the stage for lynching. Griffin arrives with Ella, who confesses she lied at Cramer's instigation. The truth spill reveals the extent of manipulation behind the mob.

Griffin tells the crowd that they will remember for the rest of their lives that they nearly killed an innocent man. Realizing they were manipulated by Cramer, the townspeople slowly walk away, abandoning the agitator’s exhortations. Only Cramer and Griffin remain on the playground.

Griffin urges Cramer to catch the next bus out of town, signaling the collapse of his scheme. The town begins to distance itself from the violence and manipulation he unleashed. The film ends with Caxton divided and wary of the consequences of deception.