Penny's niece, Jemima, is in disgrace and has been sent away to work in a hotel for the summer by her scheming step-mother - a woman who delights in dishing out bare bottom spankings. This is no coincidence. Not only is the hotel owner the notorious Morris Rathwell, organiser of the kinkiest parties in the country, but Jemima also met the hotel manager, Mr Hegedus, at one of Rathwell's debauched parties. Then there are the hotel guests, her fellow staff and the truly appalling Mrs Hegedus to contend with. So that by the time Jemima is dressed up in her severely abbreviated maid's uniform, she knows she's already in serious trouble. Maids, secret worlds behind closed doors, and good old fashioned punishment for bad girls – Penny Birch hits the spot again with the preoccupations her readers love.