"John, a young student with a potentially brilliant academic career ahead of him, and Mariam, a shy preternaturally perceptive woman, meet and fall in love in college. Their early careers, their seemingly mismatched natures, and the alarming changes occurring in their country conspire to keep them apart for years. But a day comes when, across a great distance, both realize that they have always loved each other. During the intervening years, however, the troubles in their country have reached a critical impasse. Government crimes have been covered up, personal liberty is deeply compromised, a resistance movement has emerged from the underground to take the fight for freedom to the streets, and the government militia emplys increasingly draconian measures in an attempt to maintain control. When Mariam is implicated in the latest anti-government actions and arrested without appeal, the consequences of her and John's love will prove dire for both"--Front flap.