Power and cycles of abuse are major themes of this trilogy and it comes to a head in this book. There is one graphic rape of a woman by a man. Another woman is repeatedly raped (fewer details on-screen) during captivity. A male character is coping, poorly, with memories of being physically and sexually abused as a child. And there is a woman (Etta) who continues to be happily in dysfunctional relationship with a man who views her more as a convenience and a possession than as a person. The author handles everything in a sensitive and appropriately serious way.