It is 1990 and Maryam Hamdi's prize-winning novel has made her one of the leading authors of the Republic of Al-Andalus. However, the reactions to her work in both Arabic and English have not all been positive and she now needs police protection. Her estranged friend, journalist Kaima Ziani, is given the opportunity to interview Maryam in hiding. Meanwhile, US Christian fundamentalist Brandon Travis heads to Al-Andalus leading a team aiming to abduct Hamdi and compel a retraction from her. All three are on a collision course to a showdown in the rugged forested uplands of Arabic southern Iberia.