Summary

The novel opens on a young man named Saeed and a young woman named Nadia in a class on “corporate identity and product branding” (3) in an unidentified city. The narrator observes that “back then” (3) people had greater freedoms to choose what they wear. Saeed soon speaks to Nadia, and asks her if she would like to have coffee. Nadia teases him, asking if he prays. When Saeed begins to explain that prayer is a personal choice and he doesn’t always pray, Nadia interrupts him to say only that she doesn’t pray. She declines his invitation for coffee, puts on a black motorcycle helmet, and rides away on a used trail bike.

The next day, Saeed is at his work, at an agency specializing in outdoor advertisement. Distracted by thoughts of Nadia, Saeed stares out the window at a hawk constructing a nest...