Why has so much of the public discussion of rape focused on a few specific cases, and to what extent has this discussion incorporated the feminist perspective on rape? Rape on Trial explores these questions and provides answers based on a detailed examination of the mainstream news coverage of the John and Greta Rideout marital rape case, the Big Dan's Tavern gang rape case, and the Webb-Dotson rape recantation case.

Lisa M. Cuklanz traces where and how rape reform ideas were granted legitimacy in mainstream news coverage. She finds that while the subsequent fictionalized versions frequently adopted the themes foregrounded in the news coverage, they usually were more sympathetic toward—and indeed often took on—the rape victim's point of view.