Beginning with the 1868 shooting of politician Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Williams chronologically examines the trials of Louis Riel in 1885, Ernest Chenoweth in 1900, Wilbert Coffin in 1953, Steven Truscott in 1959, and Peter Demeter in 1974. Williams concludes that there is no reason to doubt the justice of the verdict in any of the six casses.