Sir Fennimore Truscott, a retired Judge, sits under his mulberry tree and 'tries' his next-door-neighbour Tom Marjoriebanks for - allegedly - seducing Truscott's wife Margaret many years earlier.
Is Tom the father of Edwin, Fennimore and Margaret's only son? Both men can see strong traces of the other in Edwin (who is unseen by the audience) but only Margaret knows the truth....barbed wit and a wealth of judicial felicities make this comedy a deligth from swearing-in to verdict.