Summer, 1914. Young Englishwoman Vivian Rose Spencer is in an ancient land, about to discover the Temple of Zeus, the call of adventure, and love. Thousands of miles away a twenty-year-old Pathan, Qayyum Gul, is learning about brotherhood and loyalty in the British Indian army. Summer, 1915. Viv has been separated from the man she loves; Qayyum has lost an eye at Ypres. They meet on a train to Peshawar, unaware that a connection is about to be forged between their lives – one that will reveal itself fifteen years later when anti-colonial resistance, an ancient artefact and a mysterious woman will bring them together again. About the Author
Kamila Shamsie is the author of five novels: In the City by the Sea; Kartography (both
shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize); Salt and Saffron; Broken Verses and Burnt
Shadows which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and has been translated
into more than twenty languages. Three of her novels have received awards from
Pakistan's Academy of Letters. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in
2013 was named a Granta's Best of Young British Novelist. She grew up in Karachi and
now lives in London.
@kamilashamsie
