Neem has been investigating the secretive business of the wealthy Wilcox Smiths in Bahrain. When she goes missing, presumed dead, those close to her unravel a trail that leads back to the 1970s in Tehran where Martin Wilcox Smith began his career as a diplomat. Phoebe, Martin's enigmatic wife, is divided between her love of Neem and protecting her husband; Fauzia, Martin's daughter-in-law, is a reporter investigating British ties to the Middle East; and Kate, Martin's niece, is in a relationship with a Bahraini refugee who opens her eyes to Martin's corruption; together they are on a path of discovery into their family's secret past.