This text examines the historical case of Minnie Dean, the only woman to be executed by hanging in New Zealand, to determine the societal and legal factors that led to her conviction. The authorial perspective analyzes the 1895 trial of the 'baby farmer' who was accused of murdering infants in her care. By reviewing court records and contemporary media reports, the work reconstructs the environment of late 19th-century New Zealand and the public outcry surrounding the case.

Historians and legal scholars frequently cite this case as a pivotal moment in New Zealand's criminal justice history. Readers often note the clinical approach to the archival evidence presented in the text.