Valentine

What is the fate of women in a world that belongs to men? And how difficult is it to raise your head and finally start fighting for justice? This is what Elizabeth Wetmore's novel "Valentine" is about — a novel of incredible power, strong and justifiably furious.

America, the 1970s. The oil boom sweeps through Texas like a tornado, promising men unseen wealth. For women, it only promises men dulled by unexpected profit and relentless drunkenness.

On the morning after Valentine's Day, fourteen-year-old Gloria Ramirez appears on the doorstep of Mary Rose's farm — battered, frightened, begging for help. The news that she was raped by a white oilman spreads quickly through the small town, but few believe Gloria's words.