Lahore – a city of secretive glamour, whispering elites, and sordid affairs. A city brought to its knees by terrorism. Forty one-year old Mona has almost everything: money, friends, social status… everything except for freedom in the repressed Pakistani society. Languishing in her golden cage, she craves a sense of belonging… of love. Desperate for emotional release, she turns to an indulgent friend who introduces her to an alternate world of glitter, glamour, covert affairs and drugs. There she meets Ali, a physically and emotionally wounded man, years younger than her. Heady with love, she begins a delicate game of deceit that spirals out of control and threatens to shatter the deceptive facade of conservatism erected by Lahori society, and potentially destroy everything that Mona has ever held dear.
Author
Awais Khan is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and Durham University. He has studied Creative Writing at Faber Academy in London. He is the award-winning author of the critically acclaimed IN THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS (published by Simon & Schuster, Isis Audio and Hera Books) and NO HONOUR (published by Orenda Books). He has appeared on BBC World Service, Dubai Eye, Voice of America, Cambridge Radio, City42, PTV Home, Samaa TV, Indua TV etc. His work has appeared in The Aleph Review, Missing Slate, The Hindu, Daily Times and other publications. He is the Founding Director of The Writing Institute and has delivered talks on Creative Writing at Oxford University, Durham University, American University of Dubai, Canadian University of Dubai, Kinnaird College etc. He is on the judging panel of Gwyl Crime Cymru Novel Prize and Cheshire Novel Prize. He was longlisted for the Short Story Dagger in 2022. He is represented by Annette Crossland at A for Authors Agency Ltd, London.
