Flint, MI. The water in the town has been poisoned. Thia Stockmann, a bright young medical student, is confronted by her upwardly mobile brother, Pete, about a blog she wrote regarding the poisoning of Flint’s water supply. This brings a lot of unwanted attention to Flint and will have repercussions on the economy. Peter accuses Thia of being selfish and to solve this problem in a more quiet way.

In the media classroom reporters discuss the pros and cons of running Thia’s article bashing the reputation of the government. The group has a change of heart about how valuable it is to expose the government. They realize that printing this article will do more damage to the situation. Angry, Thia decides that she can fight this battle on his own. She calls a meeting at the community college.

Thia talks about the contamination of the water but also gets into the town leaders and how they are corrupt as are most of the citizens of Flint. Anger starts to grow. By the end of the meeting the town has rebelled at Thia and have marked her as an enemy of the people.

The landlord evicts them from their house, and Thia’s allies get fired for having progressive opinions. Thia stays true to her principles. She decides to accept her fate and become "an enemy of the people" if that is what it takes to do what is right.