Celbridge’s punitively erotic novels have usually concentrated on F/F scenarios, but this one is much better balanced, with many counterbalancing M/F and F/M encounters. The tale begins with the heroine as a pupil, then as a teacher of young soldiers preparing for demobilisation, before her aggressively correctional experiences expand in local society. Soon she is headed for Africa, to live in a priapic society which has a rigidly authoritarian structure enforced by cane and sjambok. The frequent changes of scene and emphasis suggest a short story origin of the work, but it is cleverly worked, and this construction mostly avoids the temptations of repetition that dog work within this genre. Definitely one of Celbridge’s better books. ( )