Julia responds to a Craigslist ad for a dominatrix position at the Dungeon. She’s running out of money, can no longer use Tom’s credit card, and cannot violate her probation. A man named Ronald responds to her application, arranges a meeting with her, and hires her immediately. She reports to the Dungeon’s building in Chelsea the next day, checking in with the front desk manager, Greta. Julia uses the dominatrix name Valentina and receives her first job with a client named Stewart.

Julia spends two hours with Stewart. She realizes that he’s gay toward the end of the session and discovers how to satisfy him. She learns the job is about reading between the lines. She starts accepting as many clients as possible. She adapts easily to the roles. One day, she has a submissive session with a client Joe and asks Greta for more submissive jobs after that. The other clients aren’t as nice as Joe. Over time, she grows increasingly popular, and the other girls become jealous. One day, she discovers that her coworker, Mistress Violet, used her Jimmy Choo pumps as an ashtray and urinated in her leotard. She plots her revenge, determined to prove herself to her coworkers.