On the morning of her fifth birthday, Miki Suzuki's aged grandfather gives her an unusual gift - the fragment of a story.
The tale tells of a magical realm where all the women are beautiful, dressed in the finest gowns, and where the men have the looks of movie stars. This place, young Miki learns, is a city in far-off Europe - a city called Paris.
The story takes seed in Miki's mind and, over twenty years, she becomes obsessed with the French capital. Having studied its history, language, and traditions, she vows that one day she will venture there.
Winning a competition at work, Miki embarks on the journey of a lifetime to her dream destination. Feverishly excited and exhausted after a long flight, she hits the ground running in her desperation to see every last tourist sight in town.
But, as the others in the tour group look on in horror, the telltale signs of a rare condition begin to manifest themselves - a condition known as 'Paris Syndrome'.
Made crazed by a stream of unfavourable events, Miki goes on a riotous rampage, which ends in her mooning the salesclerk in a designer store - an assault that grips the French nation. So begins the treatment in the most bizarre of clinics - a refuge for fellow sufferers of Paris Syndrome. All this set against a backdrop of vigilante groups, trade wars, bounty hunters, and true love.
Hilarious and toe-curling, Miki Suzuki's psychological rollercoaster ride gets under the skin like nothing else, as the novel explores the real condition that afflicts dozens of Japanese tourists each year.
Tahir Shah's mastery as a storyteller, and his knowledge of both East and West, makes Paris Syndrome a novel touched with real magic - a story within a story that's worth its weight in gold.
