The Windtower House Mystery

Description

Two women - one Bahraini, one American - are in pursuit of an ancient treasure before it is spirited out of the country by ruthless Art thieves. The island of Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf is the setting for this mystery. It emphasizes two features of the country: an old residence in the traditional Gulf architecture, the Windtower House and an archaeological site of the Dilmun civilization dating from the third millennium B.C. Dilmun was the pivotal point in the ancient culture triangle between Mesopotamia and the Indus region. The mystery evolves around the theft of a Dilmun treasure, a young Bahraini woman, Mona, and her best friend, the American Faith, who works for an agency that specializes in the recovery of stolen Art. It is Faith's first visit to the Middle East. She starts out somewhat naively but soon questions the usual Western image of the meek Arab woman as she learns about local society. Two elderly Bahraini women, one a traditional herbalist, the other a sweetseller, feature strongly in the final retrieval of the treasure.