First published 1989
Marid Audran patrols the streets of the Budayeen, the Arabian quarter of a fractured future Earth. Once a broke hustler who valued his independence above all else, he now serves as both cop and personal agent for Friedlander Bey, the district's powerful godfather. Money and authority have replaced his former poverty, but Marid would give up both to reclaim his autonomy. That choice no longer exists for him. The city spirals into violence. Someone helps a child mutilator escape justice. A killer targets Marid's partner. Prostitutes turn up dead and brutalized. The chaos points toward Abu Adil, whose influence rivals Bey's own power in the city. Marid must navigate between his duties as policeman and his obligations to Bey while confronting forces that threaten to destroy the only world he knows. His investigation pulls him deeper into a web where loyalty and survival demand terrible compromises.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, crime, action
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, moral-ambiguity
Setting: Budayeen, Earth
Period: future
289 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday
Content warnings: violence