The women and their marks

Reading a card

The crossed straps under her name are her mark: two for silk and cuffs, three for a counted spanking, four for her full kit of rope, latex, leather or stockings. The line under that says whether she leads, follows or switches. The word in italics is her safe word.

From 25 to 45

The youngest are Leonie, a club DJ in Berlin, Franziska, a climbing-hall owner in Munich, Valerie, a violinist in Vienna, and Rahel, a watchmaker in Zurich, all 25. The oldest are Kezia, a theatre rigger in London, and Céline, a translator in Lyon, both 45. In between are a boxing coach, a tango teacher, a latex couturier, a cocktail bar owner, a leathersmith, an aerialist, a charter yacht owner, an auctioneer, a hosiery maker, a night nurse, a tattoo artist, a private jet captain and a mergers lawyer. All of them are fictional adults made by AI.