The card machine accepts my card with a beep. I am just in time to hold on to a bar, as the tram sets into motion before I have reached a free seat. Line 4 shocks and squeals its way through a sharp curve. My destination is Rooseveltlaan, one of the avenues in Amsterdam-South, a 20-minute ride. Luckily, there is still a free seat in the middle of the busy tram. Nineteen years old and filled with enthusiasm, I love my new...

-Chapter 1 -- The authoritarian hand slaps hard on her tight skirt, while she is standing bent over the desk, her eyes in anxious anticipation for the next swat. I remember all the details of the movie as if it were yesterday. I still lived with my parents when I watched it on television while my dad and ma were away on a birthday visit. I squirm on my chair, thinking back to how much the movie turned me on. The secretary...

1928, Oxfordshire The 17th of July: The Rolls Royce crunches its way over the gravel, as the manor house rises in front of me. New things are about to happen in the turbulence of youth. This spring, I celebrated my nineteenth birthday and I am excited about heading for a major step in my life. James, the butler, is already awaiting me to open the door with a bow, while servants rush by to take care of my overloaded luggag...