In 1928, when timid ten-year-old Nate learns that his parents have been lost at sea, he joins his father's cousin on a flight to Arabia where they must oversee the death and rebirth of the phoenix, thus beginning his training as a "beastologist.".
Salma, a Bedouin woman who was forced out of her village after giving birth to a child out of wedlock, creates a new identity in England, but soon becomes preoccupied with returning to her homeland to find the daughter who was taken from her.
Describes the clothes and equipment worn by Bedouins throughout history, examining their traditional dress styles and the changes they have gone through over time.
Near Palestine in the 1890s, a train derails and its engineer, who was rushing to spend Hanukkah with friends, is surprised when a Bedouin who helps him says they are in the very place where the miracle of Hanukkah began.
Describes the life, history, customs, and changing world of the two and one half million Arabic-speaking nomads in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, other countries of the Arabian peninsula, and North Africa.
