The butterfly effect is a concept from physics in which it is surmised that small actions can have enormous consequences, and that the flutter of a butterfly's wing on one side of the world can cause devastating storms on the other side. The author explores the impact of the love between lesbians. The butterfly effect is a force that can destroy families and bring down governments, but is also a force full of vitality and world changing creativity. She evokes the ancient worlds of pre-Vedic and Sapphic lovers, of Medieval jonglaresas and nuns 'fingering petals and hips' as well as the contemporary world of circuses and global politics.