The Gardener's Favorite Poisonous Flower

Summary

When itinerant traveler Orbit, also known as "Ollie," gets stranded without permit or paperwork in the authoritarian city-state of Belote, the only place that will hire him is as a caretaker, or "gardener," at the male brothel Le Jouet Queue. He quickly discovers that all of the companions working there are furless, half animal and half human beings who are treated as pets, property, and sometimes even as livestock for slaughter. For many of the furless there, life at the brothel is a marked improvement from all they've suffered earlier in their lives. They are fed, sheltered, pampered, and looked after by Ollie and the other gardeners— and even a gilded cage is better than the cruelties of the outside world. But when Ollie's considerate, gentle nature and pure heart catch the eye of the tempestuous Aconit, the most prized and coveted furless in Le Jouet Queue, what begins as idle seduction soon blooms into something deeper. Aconit's haughty façade of careless allure masks his own old wounds and deep distrust of humans, but Ollie sees through his surface beauty to the lonely, resentful creature beneath. In turn, Aconit finds his cold heart stirred by Ollie's tender affection and innocent intentions. But can the love between the two of them last as tensions mount and the mistreatment of furless weighs heavier and heavier upon Ollie's heart...?