Ayman Baroudi
Published: 2021-01-04
Total Pages: 313
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This thrilling story sets in cosmopolitan Dubai follows the lives of characters who, despite their wildly different backgrounds and heritages, are brought together by a determination to survive in a world where sex is a commodity and terrorism and business go hand in hand. Waleed Adam, who goes under the name of ‘the prince,’ is a victim of political complications and conflict in the Middle East and ends up as a gang leader. His trusted assistant Salem flees to Iraq and joins forces with the Cobra Group, which is involved in drug smuggling, among other things. As he doesn’t want to be involved with drugs or take a minor role in the gang, the prince flees Syria to start a new life in Dubai. He is soon living in a nightmare and risks becoming a victim of the proxy war in that part of the world. The prince takes the opportunity to run the 10 Tola Bar, a haven for the elite looking for fun and prostitutes struggling to live. Most of the bar regulars have fled dictator regimes as he has. One of these is Sonya, a Russian dominatrix and prostitute, who has recently arrived from Libya. Her involvement with high-ranking officers and officials close to Muammar al-Gaddafi leads her to work for Russian intelligence. Also, there is Ana, one of the millions of victims of Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People’s Republic of China. She is forced to work as a prostitute and later becomes a spy who betrays the prince before meeting a brutal death. Another bar regular is Noor Ali, who considers that Iran is no longer his home while the theocrats are in power. Since leaving, his life has taken an unexpected direction. He becomes involved with the Iranian Office of Liberation Movements and works directly with Major Azartash, an influential officer in the Jerusalem Forces. Noor Ali’s actions create a turning point in Sonya and the prince’s lives when he involves them in a kidnapping mission. He promised Sonya a million dollars if she cooperates in kidnapping her friend Hamad, a Qatar royal family member. The prince is promised the same for acting as a mediator. But the kidnapping mission ends in disaster, leads to horrible consequences of revenge and counter revenge. Through the novel’s breathtaking conflicts, the reader will discover like never before the secret life’s ambiance in the Middle East.