A talismanic prayer rug subtly weaves together the lives of a unique cast of characters in this magic realist novel, which traverses space and time, culture and era, where nothing is quite as it seems. In twenty-first century London Howra is on a quest to weave together the dark and broken strands of her past. Giles, a university professor, is unknowingly her closest ally, but his professional research becomes intertwined with a past he refuses to confront. An unnamed prisoner in solitary confinement contemplates both his past and present, while in Mughal India a reluctant princess considers her future. From the fleeting and the transient, to the unavoidable and life changing, their encounters with the prayer rug unravel their stories and selves, bringing light where there was once darkness.