"The story of Bassam and George, childhood best friends who have grown to adulthood in war-torn Lebanon. While Bassam embarks on a series of petty crimes to fund his escape to the West, George builds his status in the militia-ruled underworld of Beirut. Hage presents an explosive portrait of life in the ruins of a splintered city, one that fuses vivid cinematic imagery with the measured strength and beauty of Arabic poetry"