Nahid Rachlin grew up during the reign of the shah, Iran's most Westernized period, but even this era of supposed secular permissiveness could not protect her and her friends from the strict prescriptions of Muslim cultural laws. As she was learning to cope under a cruel, domineering father, she found solace and secret freedom in her friendship with Pari. Together, the two girls devoured banned books and carried on secret romances with American boys from across the river. But in time, their paths diverged irrevocably: Nahid narrowly avoided an arranged marriage and escaped to America. But Pari, an innocent who lived on Hollywood film fantasies, was forced to wed an abusive husband who virtually imprisoned her in her house. Her finale was as tragic as it was inevitable. A bittersweet memoir by an author whose novels have received praise from V. S. Naipaul and Anne Tyler.