A mujahideen's love child with his Christian lover; a globetrotting professor and a mushaira-loving Urdu editor cope with cultural and ideological barriers in a tale of star-crossed lovers. The first and second wives of a businessman hatch a diabolic plot to prevent their husband from taking a new wife. A painter's unusual bond with his dead mother plays havoc with his personal life. The characters in this collection of stories range from feudal landowners and conscience-stricken Taliban to metropolitan beggars, frustrated housewives and women defiantly striking out on their own. It offers a fascinating glimpse into contemporary Pakistani society.