Kirsty flees her brutally abusive husband, Trevor, to take a job as a maid at the Burleston Hotel in Cornwall. She befriends two other new employees at the Burleston: overweight Avril, whose ego is crushed by her domineering family, and pretty, love-starved Bernadette, recently dumped by her upper-class boyfriend. In the hotel library, Kirsty discovers Magdalene, an obscure but utterly compelling volume about the life and times of a passionate, depraved nun. Desperate for extra money for her children, she persuades Avril to join her in rewriting the book and submitting it to a publisher as a new work, while Bernadette poses as the author.

 

A glittering future lies before the three women . . . but are Kirsty, Avril, and Bernadette prepared to pay the price for their success? Is it possible that the malign spirit behind Magdalene is somehow influencing their actions?