In a penitentiary nestled in the heart of the Alps, Antoine Petit is tasked with drawing up a psychological profile of the woman whose name is on everyone’s lips. Dolores Leal Mayor has attained notoriety by killing some dozen powerful men and having sparked a slew of murders right across the country, and it is the young psychiatrist’s job to try and stem the tide.

A contemporary fable about the violence engendered by capitalism and the patriarchy, Dolores, or The Dog’s Belly – a sort of mirror image of Sade’s Justine – is a dark and bitter novel and an ode to the incandescent passions associated with revolt.