On the morning of 15 January 2000, the body of a young American tourist was found washed up on the Caribbean island of Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands. She was 34-year-old Lois McMillen, a wealthy artist. Within hours, four young American men staying in a neighbouring villa were arrested for her murder. They were all friends of Lois, two of them were sons of millionaires and they all strongly protested their innocence.

Tortola is a tiny, peaceful island with a low violent crime rate that attracts well-heeled visitors looking for an exclusive, safe holiday in paradise. Tourism makes the island rich and the murder of a tourist is a rare and shocking event on an island thronging with Millennium holidaymakers. Tortola is a British Territory, run by a British governor and the small island police force, aided by a Scottish detective, was under pressure to find the killer fast.

Scotland Yard were called in to help the police with the biggest case the island had ever known, sparking an international hunt for forensic evidence to link the murder to the four suspects - Michael Spicer, Evan George, Alexander Benedetto and William Labrador.

As forensic tests faltered, the men languished in the island's only jail. Pressure was growing from America to release the four when a prisoner stepped forward offering details of a jailhouse confession that would transform the case. However, there was a catch. The prisoner was a serial conman.

The scene was set for a bitter clash of cultures between American privilege, Caribbean justice, and the remnants of British colonial power as the men went on trial in April 2001. The case hinged on the jailhouse confession. But would the jury believe the testimony of a conman? The conman, interviewed in his cell, is one of key players featured in this documentary about an extraordinary Caribbean murder mystery.