Four stories intertwine in a ballet of lives: Kindah, the renowned Western-educated feminist; Nadim, her husband, a prominent scholar of Islamic history; Wisam, their neighbor, a newlywed; and Hasan, the young son of a local imam, whose mysterious powers emanate from a sense of smell so strong he can distinguish a menstruating woman from among a thousand others, the smell of lust, love, and hatred.