The story of Vourla, a massive public brothel in Drapetsona, licensed by the municipality of Piraeus in 1875 on land owned by Minister Panagiotis Pipinelis's family, which operated for six decades under state protection and police surveillance.

It was enclosed by a tall wall, had wings with uniform cells, and resembled a prison. Indeed, during the Occupation, it was turned into a prison and finished its career as a prison in 1970 when it was demolished.

The Vourla represented the bottom of the hierarchy of paid love. It gathered the prostitutes who had neither a name nor a future, and they only went out with special permission. Naturally, their voices were not heard beyond the walls of Vourla.

Nearly 80 years have passed since the brothel-military barracks closed. These women have not been alive for many years. The book is a tribute to the women of Vourla, whose anguish was to leave something behind to remind of their tormented existence.

"I will never grow old. A gypsy woman told me someone will kill me. All the better!"