Eve, Nomi

Adela Damari, a Jewish girl living in Yemen, is in danger of being adopted by the local Muslim community--unless her ailing parents can find her a husband before they die. When she meets two cousins from faraway cities--a boy with whom she shares a secret, and a girl who introduces her to the rituals of henna--Adela finds herself embarking on a new adventure into the dangers of Israel.

In mid-twentieth century Yemen, Adela Damari's parents struggle to find her a spousal prospect after passage of the Orphan's Decree that states that all orphaned Jewish children are to be adopted into the Muslim community.