In this searing memoir, Iran-born author Rahimeh Andalibian tells the story of
her family: their struggle to survive the 1979 revolution, their move to
California, and their attempts to acculturate in the face of teenage rebellion,
murder, addiction, and new traditions. Andalibian struggles to make sense of two
brutal crimes: one solved by her father and the other of which her beloved
oldest brother stands accused. She takes us first into her family's tranquil,
jasmine-scented days of prosperity in their luxury hotel in Mashhad, Iran. Their
life is ruptured by the 1979 revolution as they flee: first to the safety of a
mansion in Tehran, next to