Dandelion Dead is a dramatization of the true story of Major Herbert Armstrong, a solicitor equally proud of his work in the justice system as he was of his beloved garden. Life seemed good for Herbert, a respected solicitor with country estate, the love of his three children and a devout pride in both his life and his garden. But Armstrong, pillar of the local community, was also a man at war.

He was in conflict on three fronts: he fought regular battles against his domineering and unstable wife, Katherine; he had regular skirmishes with his bright and ambitious business rival, Oswald Martin; and waged a war against the dandelions that colonised his treasured lawn. These dandelions led to one of the most celebrated murder trials in British legal history.