The Little Stepmother is an inter-generational story of two women from the remote North Western part of Pakistan. This is a story of Jameela's daily struggle to emotionally survive in a hostile environment. Sosan, the child of a village elder, grew up in a sheltered and loving environment. When her father suddenly dies, her uncle arranges for her to be married. Sosan tries to adapt to her new life but faces problems she was ill-prepared for. When her loveless marriage ends at the age of sixteen, she has no hope of remarriage, no coveted male child, no education, and an ex mother-in-law who will not let her go. She does have a daughter who blossoms into a bright and precocious child. Sosan sees the genius in Jameela and fears for her wasted intellect. She dreads the day Jameela-our protagonist-will marry and be resigned to a life in front of a stove. She doesn't want to lose her only child to marriage, just as she was lost to her family. But who would marry Jameela? Her name, and that of her family, is tarnished by her older half-sister who runs away on her wedding day and later becomes a nursing assistant at a faraway hospital. When a marriage proposal from a big city arrives, it seems too good to be true. Jameela can continue her studies and advance as high as she desires. Sosan can even move in with her daughter. This seems to be the answer to Sosan's prayers. Except that Jameela is only twelve, and there is a catch.