The Place of Shining Light tells the story of three Pakistani men an ex-military man Adeel, an antiquities dealer Khalid, and an art collector Ghalib who are involved in the theft of a 5,000-year-old Buddhist statue from Afghanistan.
The novel explores the lives of the men as they each struggle with personal issues of faith, greed, and desire. Ghalib yearns for a political position with a cultural portfolio in the government; Khalid longs to create a private museum on his estate while Adeel hopes to leave his high-risk position as a covert operative for the military. For each of...