Robert Barr (1849 -1912) was a British-Canadian short story writer and novelist. Barr became a teacher and eventual headmaster of the Central School in Windsor, Ontario. He used the pen name Luke Sharp when writing articles for the Detroit Free Press. In 1892 he and Jerome K. Jerome founded The Idler magazine in London. William Brenton was a happy newlywed when on Christmas Eve he died of poisoning. Floating above the scene he sees it all, he sees his dear wife discovering his dead body the next morning, her horror and grief and the household in uproar. She is accused of his murder and arrested. With the help of a tough Chicago newsman and the ghost of a famous French detective, William Brenton searches for the truth that will set his wife free.