The plight of Lebanon, just emerging in 1997 from a decade of civil war, is the fascinating historical backdrop to this novel that begins with the death of an Englishwoman, Aisha, in a landmine accident near the town of Nebatiyeh. Once the woman is identified as a minor celebrity-a fashion model with an Egyptian mother-in England reporters rush to the family's Somerset home to follow up rumors that link the death to Princess Diana's high-profile campaign for a ban on landmines. When a young feature writer is sent to Beirut to further pursue the story, she finds herself trapped behind the lines of a bloody conflict between Israeli troops and the Syrian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah. Realizing that thousands of ordinary Lebanese are still trapped between the two enemies, she suddenly sees a much larger story-one in which Aisha is simply the victim of a disturbing new wave of violence that is barely mentioned in the British press. Writing her story, the reporter vows to see that justice is won for Aisha-and for Lebanon.

Joan Smith is known for her lively and controversial columns in the Independent, Independent on Sunday, Tribune and the Evening Standard. She contributes to the Times and Sunday Times, and appears on such BBC current affairs programmes as Today, Woman's Hour and The World Tonight. Her books include the best-sellers Misogynies and Moralities, as well as five crime novels. She is a human rights activist and has advised the Foreign Office on free expression issues around the world, and is a patron of the National Secular Society.