The story begins in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, a land of desert and camels.

Cheating is here "a way of life." A child learns to "guard its rights, for it is certain no one else will guard them."

A man may have more than one wife, but a woman only one husband. Everyone speaks to a business associate, family member, and enemy or friend in a flowery speech that conveys exaggerated politeness. Everyone believes in the workings of Fate, and any prophecy is regarded as truth.

In this land, at the Bazaar in the city of Zanzib, from a humble booth, Abdullah buys and sells carpets for a living. He bought the booth with a little money inherited from his deceased father. His father, who was disappointed in him, left the remaining money and a large carpet emporium at the Bazaar's center to relatives of a first wife...