Zoe Temple, a young journalist who dreams of being a war correspondent…Lieutenant Rick Benes, an American officer trying to get his platoon home alive…Adel, an Iraqi who wants revenge for the death of his father…Mahmoud, an Iraqi driver in a secret love affair with a Christian woman…Nouri, an innocent man tortured in Abu Ghraib… In occupied Baghdad, their lives will come together—in a world of violence and mistrust, where every decision can be fatal, and love is found in unexpected quarters. And when a shocking incident at an American checkpoint leaves three people dead, it sets in train a series of events that will have far-reaching consequences for them all. Burden of the Desert is fast-paced and gripping, and asks questions that will linger long after the last page is turned. Justin Huggler was a war correspondent in Iraq for the Independent newspaper, and in his first novel he memorably evokes the atmosphere of a military occupation whose aftershocks are still being felt today.
