Men with Red Ties is a fascinating up-close account of the women who nightly create the glittery illusions of male fantasy, and the world of power, perversion, money, and lust they inhabit.

With irony and biting wit, Palikarpava tells the story of these women who strut and sway to the music by night, and wake in the morning to resume their lives as young immigrants trying to make it in the city, yearning for home, and chasing already broken dreams.

Meet Alina, Lena, and Alexa, pretty playthings who outwit their clients, while catering to—and seeing through—their status.

Behind the scenes, their musings reveal them as complex, yet vulnerable, women ever aware of the absurdity of their work, and the underlying boredom and unhappiness of the men they serve.

Ripping the curtain back on the glamorous world of elite strip clubs, the author reveals the hidden plight of young women bound by friendship and desperation, struggling to find themselves amidst the corrupting glare of the stage lights.