From the languid old South to the dreaming spires of oxford and finally to the burning sands of the Iranian desert, mark the journey of young Inda Jackson.

The story of a grandmother’s early love affair and her granddaughter’s first discovery of love come full circle, uniting two family dynasties, springing from the early plantations of Georgia and the ancient kings of Persia.

 When five year old Inda Jackson’s parents are killed, she goes to live with her grandmother, Lydia, in Savannah.  Lydia and her friends are the steel magnolias providing Inda the moral compass that will guide her life forever.

   But Lydia has secrets, never removing a dazzling gold and gem encrusted ring. Upon her death, Inda opens her grandmother’s safety deposit box to find tear stained letters and a faded photo of a handsome young man. 

While attending Oxford University, Inda meets fellow student, Phillip Zand, at the nearby livery.  For her the planets stop spinning. His every look burns her alive and she is drawn to him as a moth to a flame.

The love and devotion to their Arabians bind them together in a deep friendship, but Phillip views Inda only as a friend. When she is attacked at the King’s Arms pub by a rejected suitor and rescued by Phillip, love at long last arrives on little cat feet.

At the invitation of Philip’s sister, Roxana, who is a director of the Middle Eastern Department at the British Museum, Inda becomes part of an archeological expedition to a dig in Kashan, Iran. When the expedition is nearing its end, she and Roxana make a last visit to the bazaar where Inda is kidnapped.  Phillip, armored with his many years of experience living with the desert Bedouins, rescues her in a daring raid at an oasis.  With the horror and fear of losing one another, their love is further strengthened.

Finally, they unravel the secrets of their grandparents’ unrequited love affair and fulfill a long awaited destiny.