What do you do when you are a middle-aged retired spinster and your life is in a rut?You take yourself off for a holiday at an exotic location.And that is exactly what almost 50 year old spinster Marjorie Leggett decides to do. Her new life in early retirement lacks direction, excitement and everything else. It is 1965 and so many exotic destinations beckon. Her friend convinces her that a trip to Istanbul on the Direct Orient Express is the answer. Although a quivering mixture of trepidation and excitement at the prospect of undertaking something so far removed from her normal life, Marjorie makes the booking. As she boards the train, Marjorie’s hope is that her trip to Istanbul will prove an interesting adventure. What actually happens is beyond her wildest imagination.