Morgan Selaw is the successful director of Theatre Royal Crumbleside but his contract is not renewed. Instead attractive young, gay, Esmay Warpax is appointed and Morgan is thunderstruck. His attempts to get a piece of her job fails, so in a rage he decides to plot her downfall. Esmay has her problems too, with her Shakespeare production and a leading actress not up to speed with her part; and there is the theatre board, prickly and wanting to test her. Does Morgan win? And is Esmay successful? Their battles are covered in a quickly moving read, with dramatic scenes of theatre life, enlaced with comedy Morgan's scheming provides.