Max is the chief chef in the Castle, a place where no mistake goes unpunished - in a fitting and unpleasant way. He has two hundred days before he retires, but must create a new dish every night. The Ghost is seen and strange murders start happening. Max is drawn into trying to sove the crimes, if only because he is starting to look like the main suspect. Things aren't helped when he falls in love - with the one person he shouldn't. Will Max reach his Time, or will he fall into the hands of the Royal Torturer and Extractor of Secrets? Dirty Old Rascal is a fantasy, a murder mystery, a comedy, a thriller, a satire, a ghost story, a love story, and a moral fable. The Castle is a strange place, but so is the modern world.