Daughter of Damascus

Description

On a significant day in January 2010, the Damascus apartment building, rarely visited by Syrian authorities, becomes the backdrop for a captivating chain of events. On a couch within, lies Hadiya Kishat, lifeless, surrounded by her startled children, as her husband and father-in-law hurriedly assure the police that everything is fine. An enigmatic envelope discreetly was exchanged between hands, and the case appears to vanish into the shadows.

In the weeks that follow, Ahmad, Hadiya’s brother, troubled by the circumstances of his sister’s passing and the puzzling hardship faced by her children despite her husband’s prosperous career in Dubai, seeks solace and answers from the curious “unofficial private detective” Mullah Abdullah Al-Allab. Embarking on the investigation, Mullah Abdullah ventures to Dubai, where he encounters Hadiya’s elusive and wealthy widower, Mazen Mis’ed. Although the mullah’s visit yields meager information, his return to Syria holds unexpected horrors as he finds himself detained, tortured, and enmeshed in baffling enigmas.

Upon regaining his freedom, Mullah Abdullah learns that Salah Almawazly, his favorite student at the mosque, has disappeared without a trace. Unbeknownst to him, Salah’s involvement with a secretive religious organization dedicated to restoring an Islamic caliphate has deepened, and he has recruited Hadiya’s disabled son, Khaled, who suffers from a congenital bone disorder, into their ranks. Now, the mullah, renowned for his penchant for amateur sleuthing, must assume the role of a genuine investigator to unravel the true destinies of Hadiya and Salah, and uncover the elusive secret that binds them together.