At Velvet Mexico, a publishing house specializing in lesbian erotica, writers must prove that they live what they write about, under the watchful eye of the sophisticated editor, Claudia, and her two partners, Gabrielle and Sybil, who impose unique and relentless rules.
When Elena—a passionate fan, bank employee, and lover of her boss Luca—agrees to cross the threshold of their exclusive club, she immediately understands that there, "personal attention" comes before Ronsard, Villon, or Sartre. From that moment on, the boundary between literature and desire dissolves, revealing a new and disturbing reality to her.
By declaring herself a lesbian to join the club, Elena loses all peace: she finds herself trapped in a relationship of total submission, which envelops her twenty-four hours a day. If Luca's sudden absence—he has gone on vacation with his wife—gives her a moment's respite, Lorenzo, a colleague who, having discovered the truth, demands that she always be at his disposal, suffocates her.
And when Lorenzo forces Elena to involve Elisa—Roberto's girlfriend, but secretly in love with her—in their perverse game, roles explode, identities blur, and masks fall. Between forbidden workshops, symbolic trials, and marks engraved on the skin, Elena enters a world where lesbian, straight, submissive, or dominant are just disguises to be worn and destroyed.
A profound and disturbing novel, suspended between Nietzsche and Sartre, in which the characters lay bare their humanity.
“Beneath the erotic surface, it is a reflection on existence and identity. The characters, initially caricatures, gradually become complex human figures, marked by the anxiety of living and the desire for definition.”
— Jo Motta, Independent Criticism
