This work investigates the specific circumstances, political motivations, and identities of the individuals responsible for the execution of poet Federico García Lorca during the early days of the Spanish Civil War. Ian Gibson, a noted historian and biographer, utilizes extensive archival research, interviews with surviving witnesses, and local Granadine records to reconstruct the final days of the poet. The book argues that Lorca's death was not merely a random act of wartime violence but a calculated political assassination driven by local vendettas and ideological intolerance.

Historians and scholars frequently cite this work as the definitive investigation into the death of Spain's most famous twentieth-century poet. The text is recognized for its meticulous attention to detail and its role in uncovering long-suppressed information regarding the political purges in Andalusia.