"Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity. Yet she developed a fascination with the investigation of violent crimes and made it her life's work. Best known for creating the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of dioramas that appear charming-until you notice the macabre little details: an overturned chair,...

The young exchange student whose conviction and acquittal on murder charges in Italy made headlines worldwide tells the full story of her ordeal, from the events that led to her arrest to her hard-fought battle to overcome injustice.