In Men's Shadows

Persefoni was raised to be a prostitute. She had no other choice once she starting having children. After her oldest child dies, her only hope is that her daughter, Gerri, won't grow up to be just like her. Gerri becomes a writer and meets Matthew, an orphan who is a robotics genius and prankster. Together Gerri and Matthew discover the seedy side of Venusian colony and how important robots are to the colony itself.