The Village that Betrayed its Children is the story of a rural village in Southern Ontario where a crime was committed in the 1950s and 60s. Although the teacher of the two-room village school assaulted most of the female students, he was never brought to justice - in fact, he was protected. This man was allowed to continue teaching. Many of the town's parents allowed their children to continue going to the school, though fully aware of the teacher's activities. In this chilling account, Lee describes the man who was the perpetrator, the villagers, the children, and the laws and rural culture at the time. She also relates the psychological effects of child molestation, and the denial of it, through her own story.