Kuwait 1988 - a small country in the Middle East caught between two warring giants, in the final year of the long conflict between Iran and Iraq. When Richard, a young Englishman, arrives to teach English at the University, he finds that his department has burned down and Aisha, his Kuwaiti boss, has disappeared. Aisha's sister Maryam appeals for help, and with Brad, an American colleague, Richard begins to investigate. Could his Kuwaiti friends be involved? Why is Richard's girlfriend being followed? What will come of the mutual attraction between Brad and Maryam? Nothing is as it seems, and the clash of cultures leads them all into deadly danger.