' All the men I did get to know every single man of them has filled me with but one desire: to lift my hand & bring it smashing down on his face. But because I am a woman I have never had the courage to lift my h&. & because I am a prostitute I hid my fear under layers of make-up'. So begins Firdaus' story leading to her grimy Cairo prison cell where she welcomes her death sentence as a relief from her pain & suffering. Born to a peasant family in the Egyptian countryside Firdaus suffers a childhood of cruelty & neglect. Her passion for education is ignored by her family & on leaving school she is forced to marry a much older man. Following her escapes from violent relationships she finally meets Sharifa who tells her that 'A man does not know a woman's value...the higher you price yourself the more he will realise what you are really worth' & leads her into a life of prostitution. Desperate & alone she takes drastic action.