Madame Vosges is the feared (yet strangely revered) head of a 'school' for ladies who are unwanted by family. She also caters for anyone who wishes to conveniently 'lose' a difficult rebellious or expensive sibling, a school where discipline is incredibly strict and lessons hard to learn! Poor Virginia finds herself a pupil in this most bizarre place, learning Geometry, French, maths and poetry alongside others of her age and background, finding all mistakes sadistically met with the strap, cane or the birch. Virginia and her hapless classmates are all plunged into the deepest pit of despair, for there appears to be no escape from this terrible establishment!