"The Iron Woman has come to take revenge on mankind for its thoughtless polluting of the seas, lakes and rivers," says the introduction to the novel.

It references rudeness, in that the iron woman exacts her revenge on a seemingly ignorant/uncaring male community (in the waste disposal plant) for polluting the area in which she lives; however, the book is more of an attack on society for the oblivious ways in which for many decades, a vast number of habitats have been destroyed or are on the brink of annihilation or complete destruction or obliteration.

The main character, Lucy, finds the Iron Woman in a state of despair and covered in chemicals.

Lucy sympathises with the Iron Woman, watching the animals' painful deaths as more toxic material is poured into the marsh from the local waste-disposal factory.

When the Iron Woman turns the men back to their human forms, all their hair is white, as though it has been bleached or they have aged.