Agnes Shanklin was the homely one in the family. Destined to be single, she was expected to learn a living and take care of her aging parents. All that changed with WWl and the Great Influenza of 1919. At the age of 40 she finds herself the sole survivor of her family and the heir to a comfortable amount of money. Ready for a change, she thinks about the adventure her younger sister had as a missionary in the Middle East. She plans a Cooks tour and heads for Egypt. Arriving during the Cairo Peace Conference of 1921, she encounters Gertrude Bell, T.E. Lawrence and Winston Churchill who are all embroiled in the carving up of the Middle East. That part is fascinating history.
Agnes meets the charming German Karl who offers to show her the real Cairo and, although she suspects he is hoping to gain information about her British connections, she falls in love.
There is a lot more tour guide to the story than I would have liked but the history and the role each historical character plays makes for thoughtful reading and great insight into the situation today.
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