One of the main female characters is held captive and repeatedly raped by a group of escaped criminals, an experience which leaves her profoundly traumatised, even after being rescued by her friends. The same group of escaped criminals are known to be otherwise sexually violent and there are several points in the novel where other female characters feel at risk of being attacked by them. At one point, a group of male beings who are humanoid in appearance but follow different social norms surround the woman who was raped by these criminals and proposition her for sex in the way which is accepted within their culture. She reacts to this with fear and panic.