Set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the novel follows Najwa, a young woman forced to flee her privileged, secular life in Khartoum, Sudan, following a political coup and her father’s execution. Arriving in London as a refugee, she must navigate a starkly different existence of poverty and isolation. The story chronicles her spiritual transformation as she finds solace and identity in her Muslim faith, eventually working as a modest maid for wealthy Arab families. It is a powerful exploration of exile, class, and the internal journey toward religious devotion in a Western landscape.