On a white-hot day in Tripoli, Libya, in the summer of 1979, nine-year-old Suleiman is shopping in the market square with his mother. His father is away on business - but Suleiman is sure he has just seen him, standing across the street. This novel tells a tale from the point of view of a young boy growing up in a terrifying and bewildering world.

On a white-hot day in Tripoli, Libya, in the summer of 1979, nine-year-old Suleiman is shopping in the market square with his mother. His father is away on business - except that he is sure he has just seen his father, standing across the street in a pair of dark glasses. But, why isn't he waving?