The Nightingale

The Nightingale is a riveting debut that offers a rare glimpse into war-torn Iraq--where a spirited young woman must choose between honoring the traditions of the past and her own hopes for the future. . .

Every day Leila al-Ghani spends in Mosul is a reminder of what her life once was. Before the war she was the daughter of one of the city's finest families. She was encouraged by her parents to get an education, to think like a modern woman. But now, with Mosul crumbling around her, she is expected to strictly adhere to traditions, to dress modestly with the hijab covering her hair, and to be arranged in marriage.

But when strong-willed Leila disobeys her domineering father and secretly takes a job as a translator at an American military base, her ideas of life and family loyalty are forever challenged.

As Leila meets a host of new people--including the handsome and charming Captain James Cartwright--she discovers those she loves are deeply entangled in the most violent and controversial aspects of the war, and where she places her loyalties could now cost Leila her life.