The Woman at the Well

In the early years of Islam, three lives braid together. Khalid ibn al-Walid never lost a battle, either fighting against the Prophet Muhammad or for him. "Women no longer give birth to the likes ofKhalid," the Prophet said. In old age, the general dictates his memoirsto a eunuch scribe, with a new perspective to all the blood he shed. In the desert oasis of Tadmor, twelve-year-old Rayah comes of age, accepting her new religionand her own power. And on the third floor of the house in Tadmor, a woman with blue eyes hides her past in the safety of a harem—which cannot remain secluded forever. For she and her mothers led the tribes of the desert on sacred camels—and with the help of beings of fire and smoke, the jinn.