A strikingly powerful novel exploring the motivations of a suicide bomber in Iraq. By the IMPAC shortlisted author of The Swallows of Kabul and The Attack ('A writer who can understand man wherever he is' New York Times). Forced to leave the University of Baghdad when the Americans invade Iraq, a young man returns home to his small desert village, where he witnesses three unspeakable acts of violence committed by American soldiers. Consumed by a desire for revenge, the youth returns to the city where is he is taken in by a radical group. Before long, he finds himself part of a terrorist operation which will take him to London. But as the time to board the plane draws near, he struggles to reconcile himself to his mission.