As Cairo swelters in the summer of 1986, spunky Egyptian teen Zahra pins on her hijab and faces the heat like a warrior, prepared to risk everything for a secret rendezvous with her lover. But after climbing the Ahmeds’ wall and sneaking into their household, Zahra’s parents catch her and force her to choose between telling them the truth about her relationship with the Ahmeds’ daughter or marrying the son they think she’s been sneaking there to see.

Years later, Zahra’s American daughter, Aisha, steps off a plane at Cairo International Airport and greets her grandparents for the first time. Who is this tall girl wearing black clothes, piercings, and a pixie cut, they wonder, and what secrets does she hold? Zahra and Aisha’s lives unfold together as they both grapple with their religious beliefs, social pressures, love, and the search for a place to call home amidst the feminist movement and the Arab Spring.