After 30 years as a teacher in a rough-and-tumble London school, Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) finally retires and returns to America, settling into what he imagines will be a quiet life in Chicago. But Thackeray soon discovers that the nearby high school is not unlike the school he left behind in London -- run down, lacking discipline, and in dire need of teachers who genuinely care about their students. Thackeray decides to volunteer his services to the school, and soon finds himself teaching a history class to the toughest students he's ever had to face. 1996 TriStar Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.