Unexpectedly widowed, Gabrielle, an affectionate but sexually inexperienced author/historian, turns for emotional support to her late husband’s closest friend, a courtly cosmopolite who radiates masculine appeal. When Michael reveals that he desires a slave willing to exist solely for his pleasure, his shocking invitation resonates on some gut level within the woman married for fourteen years to a man afflicted by periodic bouts of impotence. Gabrielle agrees to let Michael spirit her away to a retreat where he subjects her to a rigorous regimen designed to teach her to welcome the infliction of pain during sexual encounters.
