May Tyler's trial for the arsenic murder of her senile, drug-addicted English husband was the sensation of Manchester. Shocking stories circulated through the city, and newspapers screamed with lurid headlines condemning the frail American widow. Stubbornly refusing to explain herself to anyone--not even to her lawyers--she faced a hostile court, alone and friendless, with no defense stronger than a simple: "I didn't do it." Joseph Shearing's tale is based on a much-debated murder trial that took place in late 19th-century England, and retains the contradictions, lies, and mystery which confused the Victorian court.