Private detective Susan MacQuilan is tough at work but submissive in private, and when she accepts a case that involves murder, arson and fraud she quickly finds she needs all her skill and resilience to get through. Alan Sowerby, a wine writer, is dead, poisoned to prevent him exposing a scandal. Despite the sadistic attentions of teenage yobs, hardened criminals, debauched wine experts and even her supposed allies in the police, Susan and her friend Paulette manage to piece together the truth. Finally she has enough evidence to convince the police, only to be betrayed from the most unexpected quarter and find herself faced with the nefarious intentions of someone who thinks of her as a mere slave for indulging their sexual fantasies.