A deeply compassionate portrait of a cosmopolitan group of friends—a glimpse of the volatility of life under totalitarian rule, from Egypt's most celebrated contemporary novelist.

It is 1964 in Alexandria. Nasser has risen to power and, faced with the upheaval of his regime, many Alexandrians fled Egypt. But this particular group of locals and European expats have instead chosen to stay. They gather nightly in the bar upstairs at the elegant waterfront restaurant Artinos, where the drinks flow freely, to argue about art and truth, love and justice.   

There is Lyda Artinos, who inherited the restaurant from her father; Carlo, the charismatic Italian bartender; Anas, a painter; Tony, a factory owner; Abbas, a liberal lawyer; Noha, his wife; and Chantal, the beautiful and well-connected owner of Alexandria's most popular French bookshop. As the political situation grows more heated, their optimism for the future—and their integrity—will be put to the test, and their debates about the issues of the day start to carry terrifying weight.

With the breathtaking range and insight he is known for, Al Aswany gives us the human story beneath the historical narrative: what it feels like to get caught up in the end of an era.