Only in London

Four strangers meet on a turbulent flight from Dubai to London: Amira, a canny Moroccan prostitute; Lamis, a 30-year old Iraqi divorcee; Nicholas, an English expert on Islamic art; and Samir, a Lebanese man who is delivering a monkey on a mission he doesn't fully understand. Once safely on British soil, Lamis and Nicholas fall in love, Samir chases after blond British youths, and Amira reinvents herself as a princess, the better to lure clients at the best London hotels. Through the city and across cultural borders,Only in Londonwittily portrays the smells, sounds, and sights of London's lively Arab neighorhoods, as well as the freedoms the city both offers and withholds from its immigrants.

Hanan al-Shaykh was born and raised in Lebanon. She is the author of three novels—<i>Women of Sand and Myrrh, The Story of Zahra,</i> and <i>Beirut Blues</i>—as well as a collection of short stories,<b> </b><i>I Sweep the Sun Off Rooftops.</i> She currently lives in London with her husband and two children.