A magnificent book about tolerance. –  France Info

Among the best mystery authors currently writing. – Franck Thilliez

“The first butterflies fluttered behind her eyelids. She had seen ones like that as a child at the seashore: yellow and purple against the clear blue sky. Today, the star was black; the ground hard beneath her shoulders. And the smell was like a putrid tide going out. The butterflies flew higher and higher, further and further away. She needed air. Air…

She opened her mouth to take a deep breath, gulping like a drowning man who has just made it to the surface of the water. The butterflies had disappeared, suddenly frightened by a roar that seemed to come from the depths of time…”

Finding yourself in jail for many years when you’re already trapped inside a body that isn’t yours… that’s the double penalty that has been inflicted on Virginia.

In this noir novel of society, Jacques Saussey masterfully addresses a little-known issue: transgender women being held in men’s prisons. Skipping from one period to another, this poignant tale tells both the story of a life and a story of revenge.