Outlaws Frank and Jesse James eluded capture for sixteen years and became folk heroes. In 1882, after Jesse was killed, Frank surrendered and faced trial for murder. But how could Missouri convict a man so popular that the governor almost needed an appointment to visit him in jail?

The James brothers are icons of Western Americana, but little has been heard about the circus-like trial that decided if Frank James was guilty of cold-blooded murder. With great care, Boggs has recreated the least-known saga of the James brothers' lives-the trial of Frank James.