The year is 1911. After attending college for two years, Margaret Chambers returns home to teach in the one-room school house of her youth. Trouble brews quickly. The God-fearing citizens of his small, weather-beaten town feel threatened by the bright-eyed, full-figured Margaret. She’s too smart by half and she needs to be put in her place. The men devise a plan to chase Margaret from the county forever. But fueled by whiskey and the shame of their own desires, their plan soon spins out of control. In one night of violence, they ambush Margaret and tar and feather her naked body.

After the men are arrested, a long, painful trial begins – a trial that will thrust this proud, private Kansas town into the national spotlight, splitting families apart and exposing the dark secrets of one hideous night.

Esther’s Pillow is based on a true story.