A startling and sensuous debut novel set in Saudi Arabia that tells the story of a young immigrant and a veiled girl as they defy strict Muslim laws in their attempt to be together Set against the repressive rules of Wahhabi Islam, this gripping novel introduces us to Naser, a twenty-year-old immigrant from the Sudan living in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah as a political refugee. A second-class citizen in Saudi society working in a menial job, Naser leads a lonely, bleak life. Everything abruptly changes when a girl furtively drops a note next to him saying that she wants to get to know him. Concealed from head to foot in a black robe and veil, she writes to Naser that she will be distinguishable by the pink shoes she wears especially for him. Relationships--even companionship--between unmarried men and women are outlawed in their strict Muslim culture, and as the couple grows closer and secretly begin to meet, the religious police inevitably target them. Unwilling to give up the one thing in their lives that has meaning--each other--Naser and his girlfriend bravely face the consequences of their forbidden love affair, as the novel comes to a terrifying and deeply moving climax. From the Hardcover edition.