Thafer Allam finds his return to his homeland of Palestine wrought with difficulty after years of living in America, attempting to reconcile his roots with his ties to the West. This historical novel describes the tensions and cultural bonds that shaped the lives of Palestinians in exile.

The Secret of Rose-Anne Riley is a historical fictional account of four generations of an American family. Rose-Anne is the gentle grandmother whose violent rape, covered up and papered over, continues to fester like a corrosive wound, finally emerging to darken the life of Alexia, a beautiful girl in the family's third generation. Rose-Anne's benevolent care endears her to Alexia who becomes her grandmother's confidante and companion during her final illness. The grandmother reveals the account of her violent rape by a young man who was the spoiled son of a wealthy family for whom she did...