On returning to Egypt from the US, where he is writing a dissertation on fundamentalism, Adam falls madly in love with a journalist named Hanane. She loves him back, and they marry. Hanane is from a modest Egyptian family, and has been campaigning against a wealthy elite which thrives by plundering its own people: corruption is endemic in Egypt, and American interests are trying to win control of the country’s lucrative tourist trade. But Adam’s super-rich parents and their friends in government lie at the heart the system.