Schehera, a middle-aged chamberslave, reads from the palace library when no one is watching: tales of seduction, magic, and the horrible power of a djinni. When she spies the Queen conspiring with one such succubus djinni - an ancient evil that once ruled the land by sucking out the souls of men - she realises the stories are more than fantasy, and only she is positioned to save her city.
She attempts to warn the Sultan, but he doesn't believe her, and she is forced into a desperate gambit for her life: each night she must satisfy him with a tale, or she won't live to see the dawn.
Yet there's power in stories. Schehera's licentious tales feature not only emirs and viziers, marid and ifrit, but also porters and bricklayers, and they reinvigorate the Sultan's desire to improve the world outside his palace. She gains influence as he treats her with respect, then adoration, then something which might be love.
'A brilliantly wrought fantasy that engages the frame and narrative layering of One Thousand and One Nights to wonderful effect in order to tell a creative, compelling new tale.' - Storm Humbert, award-winning author of Stolen Sky.
'Chris Winspear is a natural born storyteller who vividly and humorously reimagines a
world of fantasy and mysticism.' - Amal Awad, author of Bitter & Sweet.
