Mahnaz, the only daughter of a traditional aristocratic family, is engaged to her childhood friend Mohammad at the age of 16. The couple begins an affectionate relationship. Mahnaz believes she has everything a girl needs to be happy: beauty, a supportive family, an intelligent fiancé who loves her and in-laws that treat her as one of their own. But soon after the engagement, the first signs of conflict emerge. The disagreements seem petty but Mahnaz’s naivety, false pride and selfishness turn them

Nazi Safavi was born in 1967. Her novels mostly concern women battling tradition and modernity in Iranian society. Her novel Hallway to Paradise is a best-seller in Iran. It was first published in 1999 and has been reprinted 47 times with over 250,000 copies sold to date. Purgatory, Yet Heaven is her other novel.