In 1788, the city of Edinburgh was rocked with the revelation that William Deacon Brodie, highly respectable master cabinet maker and town councillor, had been found guilty of attempting to steal a fortune from the city's Customs and Excise offices. The short trial revealed a secret life of gambling, drinking, whoring and theft. The 'successful' son of a proud and established family, Brodie was sentenced to death. He was hanged, ironically, on the very gallows that he himself had designed. Based on a true story.--From case.