‘As heart-wrenching as it is achingly beautiful’Sadeqa Johnson, author ofThe House of Eve
‘Heartbreaking and life affirming’Adrienne Brodeur, author ofLittle Monsters
‘Courage, friendship, loyalty, hardship, lovethis novel has everything’MaryBeth Keane,Ask Again, Yes

From the author ofThe Stationery Shop of Tehran, a heartfelt, epic new novel of friendship, betrayal and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran.

In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mothers endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation.

Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homas warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming ‘lion women.’

But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls high school in Iran, Ellies memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellies privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.

Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.

Praise for Marjan Kamali

Evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful This book broke my heart again and againWhitney Scharer, author ofThe Age of Light

A beautifully immersive tale brings to life a lost and complex worldand the captivating characters who once called it homeJasmin Darznik, author ofThe Good DaughterandSong of a Captive Bird

What a pleasure a novel that is all at oncemasterfully plotted, beautifully written, and populated by characters who are arresting, lovable and so realElinor Lipman, author ofTurpentine Lane

A sweeping romantic tale of thwarted loveKirkus Reviews

Anenchanting romanceMy Weekly