First published 2026
When a Pakistani political leader meets his death by hanging, OK Town explodes into chaos. Sir Baghi runs the Rebel English Academy, teaching affordable English lessons to locals. His quiet routine breaks when Sabiha appears at his door seeking shelter. She carries a weapon, her parents sit in prison as political captives, and her husband died in a fire that raises questions. Baghi urges her to put her story on paper, and through her writing, her past emerges piece by piece. Captain Gul, a fallen intelligence officer, arrives in OK Town with orders to crush the uprising. His mission becomes tangled with personal desires, weakening his already shaky authority. Pakistan moves toward modernity while martial law grips the nation after their former leader's execution. The characters navigate this shifting world through acts of violence, moments of passion, and flashes of sharp wit.
Genres: fiction, suspense, contemporary, political-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: OK Town, Pakistan
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Grove Press