Under the stern tutelage of Madame Seraphim Savage, Susie is training to be a corsetiere. A keen student of fashion, Susie soon discovers that at the Rookery - Madame's private establishment - discipline, correction and other special services are always in vogue. Madame's clients, it seems, appreciate the stripe of a cane as much as they do the cut of a tight-fitting basque.

Intrigue abounds, as do jealous rivalries, but Susie's appetite for the pleasures of punishment seems boundless. And that's just as well, as Madame's cardinal rule - that the customer always comes first - is strictly enforced.