While covering community clashes in southern Algeria, Ibn Battuta, a journalist, finds himself picking up the trail of forgotten uprisings against the Abbasid Caliphate. For the purposes of his investigation, he goes to Beirut, allegedly to study the state of the 'Arab nation'. Nahla, a young Palestinian whose family has found refuge in Greece, also heads for Beirut with funds for other Palestinians. In US-occupied Iraq, Mr. Prince is making easy money and, seeking to preserve his loot, he too moves to Beirut. These three will meet, despite tensions, missteps, dead ends, lies, oversights and ever-present ghosts.