The courtroom trial of Valentina Abbott for the murder of her first husband, Lecoq, in 1935, is portrayed on two levels -- that of the testimony and examination of witnesses and of Judge Bardoley's own recollections of Valentina as he knew her at that time. The fascinating record of prosecution and defense, the evidence that conflicts and finally merges, Valentina's three marriages and the details of her own testimony- all lead to a melodramatic climax. Vintage stuff.