In this explicit retelling of the American classic, the author delves into the pent-up frustrations of Hester Prynne and the Puritan colonies of the 17th century for the pleasure of contemporary readers.

It is an iconic fable of guilt and redemption set in a modern-day Puritan Massachusetts that has long been considered one of the greatest American stories, yet until now remained denuded of the characters' moral struggles with the ways of the flesh. The story of Hester Prynne?found out in adultery, pilloried by her Puritan community, and abandoned, in different ways, by both her partner in sin and her vengeance-seeking husband-to-be?takes on a new vitality heightened by the author's sympathy for the erotic urges of the fallen heroine and her tormented but oversexed lover. In the backdrop of this new narrative, the stern sadism of the townsfolk shows its true face and its genuine love for corporal punishment.

While the spirit of the original tale has been kept, the wording has been translated into a dialect which conjoins the 17th century language with a contemporary vernacular. The story unfolds in modern-day Massachusetts yet the members of the colony have upheld their traditional ways and beliefs in the same Godly manner as the original founders.