The Taliban invaded Swat District in northern Pakistan in the year 2008. The government of Pakistan yielded control without a fight, leaving the residents of Swat to fend for themselves. Farooq Davi and his friends Reshtina Jadoon and Marwand Marwat are the children of Swat, forced to come of age in a town occupied by the Taliban and ruled by terror. With their world falling into ruins around them and opportunities for a normal life gone, what will they do? What decisions will they make? Which side of the conflict will they choose to ally with? Blending elements of the Bildungsroman, the war story, and the revenge tale, The Ruin of Waadi Sharif is the story of how they respond to the occupation of their hometown.