Winner of the Best International Fiction Book at the 42nd SIBF Awards ( Sharjah International Book Fair)

It’s 711 CE, 92 years after the Hijra of the Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Responding to a plea from Count Julian, governor of Ceuta, Umayyad General Tariq Ibn Ziyad, under order of Caliph Al-Walid in Damascus, enters the turbulent Visigoth Kingdom of Iberia.

Leaving his sleepy village of Tlemcen, a young Berber Qasim, joins Tariq’s men, and is swept away on an amazing quest. Jacob, captured in Julian’s raid on Iberia, is tied up and thrust upon a galley boat bound for North Africa. Siblings Ben and Bella live under constant Visigoth scrutiny, forced to lead a double life of secrets and deception.

Lives will converge on both sides as a wind of change blows hard across Iberia. The course of history is about to change ...