This short but cleverly crafted novel recounts the tale of Muhra, a young woman whose name means filly, born of the descendants of the Bedouin tribes who settled in Egypt 's Delta Province of El Sharqiyya during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Miral al-Tahawy was born in the Nile Delta province of El Sharqiyya, the daughter of a tribe known as al-Hanadi. Al-Tahawy has written several critically acclaimed works, including The Tent and Blue Aubergine (both published in English by the American University in Cairo Press). Her novels provide rare insight into the lives of Bedouin women in Egypt.