May 1967. Forty-four-year-old Nineta Sandi returns to Alexandria from Paris to reclaim the family home seized by the Nasser regime under sweeping regulations introduced under his ‘nationalism’ policies.

She also hopes to rekindle her fiery romance with Jean Latife, the son of her father’s mistress and the Egyptian judge who issued the property confiscation orders. But her lusty memories ignite a new desire for her childhood friend, Farid.

Set against the backdrop of the Greek community’s expulsion, the novel spans the tumultuous years from 1936 through the 1960s, pitting the cosmopolitanism of Alexandria against the harsh realities of Egypt and Middle Eastern politics.