In 1920's Saudi Arabia, Yasmine and Yunis live in a sheltered mansion in the countryside. Their parents are in Java and haven't been back for five years. They're under the care of the formidable nanny, Dada Afra, who keeps a strap in the dining room for when they're the most naughty. One day, when they hear about a circus that travelled down from Jordan, Yasmine and Yunis decide to run away and join it. With the promise of magic, intrigue and unspeakable weirdness, the road to the circus leads them through town and into the open wild. Yasmine and Yunis meet strange people and strange things and there's a lurking danger they could never have imagined. For the chance to live a life free of dadas, where there are tigers and elephants and playtime past 6 O'clock, Yasmine and Yunis would go on for miles. Will the circus be the haven they seek?