During a walk through the town of Bagdad a woman is tricked into entering a magnificent house where she is greeted by a marriage proposal from a complete stranger! At first she is rightly outraged but it seems fate is set to change her mind, such is the nature of a fairy tale, and when she lays eyes on her beautiful admirer she is immediately intrigued. They begin to talk and fall in love almost instantly. On seeing the couple so in love the man’s family bring in a priest and they swear on the Quar’an. He swears to be her husband for all time, she swears she will never look at another man again and so they are wed. For a while they live a blissful life, until one day whilst out on a shopping trip his mother convinces her to look at a ream of the most exquisite fabric. It’s gorgeous and she plans to buy swathes of it. But as she reaches for her purse the seller exclaims that if he would just let him kiss her cheek she could have the whole lot for free. She thanks him for this odd but generous offer but refuses him and explains that she is married, and not to look at another man let alone feel his lips on her cheek. However her mother in law chides her, she could shut her eyes, what harm could one little peck do? Think of what they could buy with their saved money! The woman is reluctant but eventually gives in to her mother in laws pushing and so she moves her veil just enough to expose her cheek. But instead of a kiss the seller bites her!

The two women rush away, the woman is mortified but her mother in law insists that it will heal in a few days and she should just keep her veil on in the house.

 At home she tries to hide her face from her husband but eventually she is forced to show him her wound. She attempts to hide the nature of the wound, telling tall tales in the hope that his questioning will cease however but the truth always prevails and the whole sorry story comes to light.

Instead of finding his mother and the shop owner he is thrown into a rage at his wife, shouting at her how she has betrayed him by allowing another man to touch her. He yells to his servants to end her life, his heart is broken and must be revenged. They beat her only until his mother interferes and convinces her son that instead of death she should be whipped and left to die in the streets.

Dejected, deformed and heartbroken the woman finds her way back to her sister’s house who welcomes her back in with loving arms.

 

But there is magic afoot. She will have to re live these ghastly memories over and over, her story interlinked in strange ways with her sisters.

 

From that day forward she never looked at another man again until her sister bings back a porter to dinner and fate brings a group of strangers together under their roof.

 

How will this meeting change her life? Will her husband ever be brought to justice?

 

You will have to wait til tomorrow night…