'Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard. I am a lover of America...' So speaks the mysterious stranger at a Lahore cafe. In this title, this speaker of immaculate English tells you his story, of how he embraced the Western dream - and a Western woman - and how both betrayed him.

This powerful and original novel explores timely themes through a moving love story with a heart-stopping ending. It follows a young Pakistani man settled in New York who finds himself caught between his roots and his new life - a potent exploration of the personal and international consequences of the friction between East & West. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2007. 'Beautifully written and superbly constructed...a tale of enormous tension (and) a subtle and elegant analysis of our world today' Philip Pullman.