 The Wilkins put up a fence, which causes the next-door neighbor to fall from a seaside cliff, presumably dying, although his body is not found. Samantha Wilkins is a shrew who owns a large estate, and henpecks her husband Henry. Henry befriends the old neighbor woman Bessie Carnby and her daughter, Camilla, who invite him for dinner, but he never shows. A quick-lime decimated body is discovered in the Wilkins barn, and it is identified as Henry, so Samantha is hung for murder. On the night after the execution, Henry reappears, and soon announces his betrothal to Camilla. Bessie blames Henry for his wife s execution, and disowns him, but now fears for her life. She notifies the sheriff that her new son-in-law may poison her with morphine, then she poisons herself, so Henry is also executed for murder. Just as the execution is consummated, a suicide note from Bessie is discovered.