In 1979, the Qaddafi dictatorship was beginning in Libya, and 9-year-old Suleiman el Dewani is left trying to make sense of the quickly changing, complicated world around him. One day, Suleiman's best friend's father is abducted, shown on television admitting to crimes he didn't commit, and then, Suleiman watches the man, a college professor, being hung in public. The child is perplexed and paranoid, and worse, his family is truly not safe. His father has expressed democratic ideas before, and his mother, knowing what this means for their family, turns to alcohol to numb the pain and to help her cope with the unfolding injustice.
Suleiman sees his father one day and realizes that his father was supposed to be out of town. Little by little, the child begins to realize that nothing is what it seems on the surface. His alcoholic mother begins to tell the child stories of his young parents. It seems that Najwa, Suleiman's mother, was married to her husband when she was only 14, and that she had become pregnant with Suleiman only a year later. She is only a child herself, only 23. It's no wonder she fails in her role and turns to alcohol instead. Suleiman is not alone, however, because he still has his best friend Kareem Rasheed, and his father's friend Moosa is also a potential resource.
One day, the Revolutionary Committee does visit the family's home, and although they leave, the family becomes increasingly paranoid, noticing that their belongs have been search, and wires have appeared throughout their life. Ultimately, they are correct in their suspicion that the government is hunting them, and Suleiman's father Faraj is captured, detained and tortured. Although he keeps his life, it seems the torture and mistreatment has caused him to become unstable and mentally unhealthy.
As the novel continues, Suleiman becomes more and more limited and agoraphobic. Much of the latter half of the novel happens within the confines of their home or their property. The boy is slowly drained of his hope until finally, one day in a fit of rage, possibly a fugue state, he confesses Kareem Rasheed's family secrets in a reckless attempt to earn good favor for his father, it seems. He also confesses to his own family's treatment.
His parents are left with no choice but to help the boy escape for his life, and we learn that the novel has been narrated by a 24-year-old Suleiman from Cairo. When his father dies, Suleiman is forbidden forbidden from Libya, and he realizes that he will never see his friends or family again. He must begin a new life and put Libya forever behind him.
