There are substances called mycotoxins that cause illness in people. There are also molds in feed-grain called vomitoxins (really!) which can cause a severe antiperistaltic reaction in animals. Pigs are the most sensitive species. Dr. Howard Lerner is a veterinary scientist whose family is shattered following the violent attack on his daughter Lily in a public bathroom in Chicago. Months after the assault, Dr. Lerner, a researcher in porcine diseases, discovers a substance that condenses a mycotoxin and serendipitously creates a weapon which can be used for self-defense. Strong Women in Chicago is a funny, feminist version of the classic movie Death Wish. Here too, the police (in this case a female officer assigned to Lily Lerner following the attack) eventually figure out how a growing number of women are protecting themselves using a very unusual method of self-defense. SWIC (Strong Women in Chicago) is a chain of women's exercise facilities owned by wealthy Mitzi Solomon. It is she who helps create a place that women have only dreamed of: a place where they are safe from dangerous men.