Gretel Pinniger, dominatrix, fetishist, artist, and courtesan to the rich and famous has been shocking and outraging Australia for decades.

Never shy of publicity, this introverted daughter of a handsome war hero from the Melbourne establishment once wanted to become a nun. Instead, she threw her leather-clad body into a world of sex, drugs and riotous parties. She danced with Elton John, catered to Clyde Packer’s more creative sexual fantasies and was supported by a fabulously wealthy patron, who bequeathed her a generous allowance so long as his name was never disclosed by her.