My Persian Girl — Jonathan Rush

Under its placid surface in 1978, Iran was a simmering sea of religious animosity and social resentment, which was shortly to boil over into the world's first Islamic revolution: the overthrow of the country's autocratic ruler, the Shah; and his replacement with a charismatic religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeni. My Persian Girl is an account of the impact the violent turmoil of the 1979 Iranian revolution has on three people: Shahnaz, a young Iranian woman; her husband Raman, who is an ambitious officer in Iran's secret police; and a naive young Englishman, James Harding. All these characters must make difficult decisions as Iran gradually slides towards the revolution, which threatens their personal safety. My Persian Girl is more than a love story set within a political thriller - it is a story of courage and hope in the face of momentous events, which have global resonance today.