Summary

The first few chapters of this novel jump back and forth between settings. The novel is about the people who belong to Café Leila, one of the only businesses that have lasted in Tehran from the 1930s to the present, which is 2014. The Prologue introduces readers to Zod, the current café owner living in Tehran, as he waits impatiently for a letter from his daughter to arrive. Chapter One throws readers all the way over to San Francisco, where Zod’s daughter, Noor, is anxiously packing an anniversary picnic for her husband. She works as a nurse in the same hospital as her heart surgeon husband, Nelson. He sends flowers to cancel the picnic Noor worked hard to pack, and she is crushed when she finds her husband canceled their anniversary plans to be with his girlfriend. The two quickly get...