The case against Laurent Lenard for the murder of his wife, Danielle, does not close with his sentence- the guillotine- but is kept alive by the speculations of a reporter which are fed by successive, contradictory testimonies. Rene Plege, his mother in law, whose vicious and vindictive evidence helped to bring in the verdict, admits to her hatred of Laurent- and opposition of his marriage to Danielle which ended in mutual revilement and recrimination; a letter from Danielle's half-sister defends Laurent, establishes his effervescent talents and charms, imputes another reason to her mother's attempts to prevent the marriage; and finally Laurent himself, in a first (he had refused to talk throughout the trial) and last confession establishes his guilt in the crime he did not commit.... The case here, or perhaps it is the writer, exploits all the emotions- and then some- inherent in the situation, but the device is a well-established one.