In a masterly act of literary transformation, celebrated novelist Hanan al-Shaykh re-creates the dramatic life and times of her mother, Kamila.

Married at a young age against her will, Kamila soon fell head-over-heels in love with another man-and was thus forced to choose between her children and her lover. As the narrative unfolds through the years-from the bazaars, cinemas and apartments of 1930s Beirut to its war-torn streets decades later-we follow this passionate woman as she survives the tragedies and celebrates the triumphs of a life lived to the very fullest.