I started reading this about a fortnight ago. I am half way through. It's jolly good. It is set in Afghanistan. It starts off with this poor, illegitimate girl who is forced to marry a not very nice man. Then the next part is about a young girl growing up in Kabul during all the fighting round about the time of the Soviet occupation and afterwards. Lots of death and tragedy. I expect at some point the storylines of the two women will cross over, but they have not really met yet.