When Amanda and her daughter, Scarlet, take a trip to one of the Emirate States, their vacation turns into a nightmare as drugs are found in Scarlet's luggage. The two women subsequently appear in court, where they are both found guilty and remanded into custody pending sentencing. They are then subjected to the humiliating ordeal of a strip search, and when sentence is finally passed, both women are to serve six months hard labour, plus fifty lashes.

Despite attempts by legal representatives, Amanda and Scarlet receive the first instalment of their corporal punishment - a public caning in an open air recreation stadium. So, with a crowd of several thousand gathered to watch the spectacle, the women prisoners are led to a raised dais where they are positioned and restrained and their bottoms bared. A very painful caning is delivered, and the women are led back to prison.

At the Court of Appeal, the duration of Amanda and Scarlet's sentence is reduced significantly ... but they still have to endure the remaining lashes before being released.

This volume also contains the following stories: Punishment at Work; South Africa Revisited; and Trouble at School.