God's Glass is the life story of Joanie Callahan, a woman born with algophilia -- the scientific term for masochism. But Joanie's masochism isn't just sexual -- it's all of her happiness that's tied to pain. She can only feel the highest emotional joys -- from art to music to curiosity to love -- through some measure of pain.

Joanie's family ostracizes her for this, going so far as to get her an exorcism and have her committed to a psych ward for electro-shock therapy.

Joanie's all alone in the world, until she meets a boxer named Michael who might possibly be just like her...