turn-of-the-century Beirut. A young woman, Selma Karamy is betrothed to a prominent religious man's nephew. The protagonist, a young man, perhaps even Gibran himself, falls in love with this woman. They begin to meet in secret, however they are discovered, and Selma is forbidden to leave her house, breaking their hopes and hearts. The book highlights many of the social issues of the time in the Eastern Mediterranean, including religious corruption, the rights of women (and lack thereof), and the weighing up of wealth and happiness.

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