Protected men

In Robert Merle’s anti-utopia, an epidemic that is deadly but threatens only fertile men is sweeping the world. The disease is wreaking havoc in the United States, where a disgusting president will soon come to power. In one of the "protected zones" guarded by armed female militiamen in Blueville, a small group of scientists is researching the antidote to the disease - they are the "protected men" in the title. Dr. Martinelli, who directs the research, after learning that a completely different kind of research is going on in one of the neighboring labs, starts a risky game, the stakes of which he can’t really measure at first. His situation is further aggravated by the fact that his son, eleven-year-old Dave, is with him, which makes Martinelli very vulnerable. Luckily for the doctor — and men in general — not all women share the president’s radical views, and there is a secret cell of resistance in Blueville as well. The epidemic is radically transforming society, and especially the institution of the family, as monogamy is now almost a sin due to the mass destruction of men. This leads to a number of tragicomic incidents, which Merle reveals to the reader with understanding humor.