The goings on at the Ordure Mill Hotel in Dewbell, a fictional town in a north Devon backwater is the backdrop to the story. Abuse, both physical and psychological of a vulnerable kitchen porter by senior members of staff and the consequences are revealed. Wordplay and double-entendres are threaded throughout the narrative. Life in a divided town having to come to terms with changing attitudes, in a world where due deference to the past is melting away. Dewbell, is also a place where romance can blossom through tragedy, and relationships are lost through perversion.