Mary

A month has passed since a deadly virus swept the country killing millions, and leaving chaos in its wake. Dale Hardy has managed to weather the storm by hunkering down on his homestead in Arizona. He grows his own crops, generates his own power, and draws fresh water from his own deep aquifer. But when a nearby town's water supply dwindles in the searing Arizona heat, Dale's peaceful existence is threatened.

If you've ever been curious about where the term "masochism" comes from, you will find it laden in the pages of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's masterpiece, Venus in Furs, for whom the term was named. Drawn in part from his own life experiences, Sacher-Masoch's novel develops an eroticism unlike any other. The book's protagonist, Severin, is so infatuated and obsessed with the object of his desire, Wanda, that he asks to be her slave. Although hesitant at first, Wanda's treatment of Severin becomes more and more depraved, fueling Severin's own desires for cruelty.