Story Summary

Cass and Kitty had been married only a few weeks but soldiers have to go where they are sent. Cass’ orders took him to France. He looked forward to her letters every day. The letter he now held in his hand was like a punch below the belt. It made his blood run cold. It told him that she was having an affair with the owner of the shop where she worked. Worse still she seemed to think that he would accept it. How could she think like that? Their marriage was not a free for all. She was the only woman in his life and he expected to be the only man in hers. No one else was invited or welcome. Because he loved her he made excuses to himself for her. She must have been lonely. Loneliness does strange things to people. She had been taken advantage of. She had been caught in a weak moment when she was down. He wrote back telling her to end it. She didn’t.

His one thought was to get back to Australia and ‘counsel’ her lover. He would teach the slimy mongrel to leave another man’s wife alone.

The war ended, at last. He was the first passenger off the plane in Melbourne. He went to the shop where Kitty worked. He confronted her lover. There was a struggle. Kitty’s lover was killed. Cass was charged with murder. The court would have to decide whether her lover’s death was accident or design. From the moment of his arrest and throughout the trial Cass remained silent. A group of twelve strangers would decide whether he lived or was to be hanged by the neck until he was dead. Should the jury find him guilty or innocent he would always love his wife.