 Rumpole travels to the north of England where he is re-united with his one time clerk, Albert who now works for a firm of solicitors. He is set to defend Maggie Hartley, actress accused of killing her husband. The prosecution case rests on the evidence of a theater employee who overheard the shots and to whom she admitted her guilt. Rumpole s defense rests primarily on her husband s brutish behavior and fondness for drink and carousing.