First novel of the first orderprovocative, exuberant, wickedly cleverthat reimagines the conspiracies and coincidences leading to the mysterious 1988 plane crash that killed Pakistans dictator General Zia ul-Haq.
At the center is Ali Shigri: Pakistan Air Force pilot and Silent Drill Commander of Fury Squadron. His father, one of Zias colonels, committed suicide under suspicious circumstances. Ali is determined to understand what or who pushed his father to such desperationand to avenge his death.
What he quickly discovers is a snarl of events: Americans in Pakistan, Soviets in Afghanistan, dollars in every hand. But Ali remains patient, determined, a touch world-weary (You want freedom and they give you chicken korma), and unsurprised at finding Zia at every turn. He mounts an elaborate plot for revenge with an ever-changing crew (willing and not) that includes his silk-underwear-and-cologne-wearing roommate; a hash-smoking American lieutenant with questionable motives; the chief of Pakistans secret police, who mistakenly believes hes in cahoots with the CIA; a blind woman imprisoned for fornication; Uncle Starchy, the squadrons laundryman; and, not least of all, a mango-besotted crow. General Ziadevout Muslim and leering admirer of non-Muslim cleavagebegins every day by asking his chief of security: Whos trying to kill me? and the answer lies in a conspiracy trying its damnedest to happen . . .
Intrigue and subterfuge combine with misstep and luck in this darkly comic book about love, betrayal, tyranny, familyand a world that unexpectedly resembles our own.