Long before 50 Shades of anything, New Zealander and teenage dominatrix Renee Chignell was at the center of a moral firestorm charged with the murder of cricket umpire Peter Plumley-Walker. The sensational case featured secret witnesses, courtroom theatrics and accusations of corruption in the judicial system. Mistress, Mercy digs beneath the scandalous headlines to unearth the story of a young woman out of her depth and left to fend for herself in society’s seedy underbelly.

Long before 50 Shades of anything, New Zealander and teenage dominatrix Renee Chignell was at the center of a moral firestorm charged with the murder of cricket umpire Peter Plumley-Walker. The sensational case featured secret witnesses, courtroom theatrics and accusations of corruption in the judicial system. Mistress, Mercy digs beneath the scandalous headlines to unearth the story of a young woman out of her depth and left to fend for herself in society’s seedy underbelly.