On a drizzly Monday morning, 16 August 1886, the inhabitants of Timaru woke to astounding news. Tom Hall junior, a well-known local businessman and man about town, had been arrested for attempting to murder his wife, Kitty, by poisoning. It was without doubt the most extraordinary thing that had ever happened in Timaru.So begins thisriveting and fast-paced examination of one of New Zealand's most sensational court cases.

Peter Graham spent 30 years in Hong Kong as a Crown Counsel and barrister in private practice. Having returned to New Zealand, he now grows apples, minds a few pigs, reads a lot of history and mulls over the past. This is his first book.