Reeling from his wife's slow, painful death, cardiologist Charles Anderson volunteers to work as the doctor in a refugee camp, in the aftermath of an earthquake in a poverty-stricken Islamic country. But when the refugees never arrive and tensions rise to dangerous proportions as bombs fall, he finds that even his altruistic intentions don't follow their planned course. This is a vivid and compassionate account of the limits of benevolence, a subtle exploration of the clash between East and West, rich and poor, and the profound conflicts that divide the world, as well as the human qualities that unite us.