On the surface, it is about Cristela Davila, a bright young woman who works at a real estate office by day and moonlights at a professional S&M dungeon at night. However, the intertwining stories explore a wide range of topics. American poverty is placed at the forefront as Cristela, inheriting her mother's welfare shame, goes to great lengths to hide her own status as a welfare recipient from her college friends. Race is relative, as Justine, the daughter of a Kenyan heiress and Italian nobleman, is deemed as "white" by her Kenyan side of the family. Agency is shown as Daisy, a daughter of the Florida backwoods, devices a clever way to free herself from abuse. Please note, there are some explicit scenes but they are consensual, tasteful and most importantly move the plot forward. (Back cover blurb) Cristela had a childhood shrouded in secrets. Ashamed of their circumstances, her mother told lies and encouraged her daughter to do the same. As Cristela grew, she unraveled the lies, but found that deception is a hard habit to break. Now, as an adult, Cristela creates a secret alter ego as the dominatrix Mistress Clara. By day, Cristela is a good-girl poster child. By night, Mistress Clara masters the hidden erotic realm of an S&M dungeon. With her knack for duplicity things should work smoothly except for one complication – friendship. The quirky array of fellow dominatrices at the dungeon are nothing like the stereotypes she expected. Divided between her affection for the girls at the dungeon and her desire to keep her fetish activities secret, Cristela fears her two worlds are colliding. Can Cristela break her history of deceit? In a world of vices and virtues, salvation isn’t something you find, it’s a path you make.