Hayate, a young Lebanese woman, records the events of a year spent in Tunisia. As friendships develop she explores the choices available to women in that culture, and discusses how they can work for a better society. When Hayate's own freedom is threatened, the issues she is confronting come sharply into focus. How can women develop new ways of relating to each other and to men?

Through Hayate's warm and thought-provoking story Evelyne Accad encapsulates the feminist debate, asks how women can live day-to-day by its values, and addresses the question of emancipation in the Arab world.