A semi-autobiographical novel in which the Lebanese author tells how her violent father, an ex-priest who broke his vows, destroyed the life of her brother, finally driving the creative young man insane.
After traveling to Africa to live with her uncle, Zahra finds herself pushed into an unwanted marriage and returned to war-torn Beirut, where she finds herself thrown into a world of sex, violence, and political intrigue.
Asmahan's letters, written from war-torn Beirut, tell the stories of one woman's life and loves, her sense of being held hostage in her own country, and her attempts to make sense of life in the chaos of civil war.
