About this book:

A desperate widow. A treacherous desert. A guide who is not what he seems.

When fever claims her husband, Zaynab inherits a crumbling spice empire, a ruthless creditor, and a deadline she cannot meet. Her only salvation lies in a perilous caravan journey to the distant oasis of Tiznit—through bandit country, shifting dunes, and the merciless sun. She hires Omar, a dervish whose quiet piety and desert wisdom feel like answered prayer. But in a land where mirages kill and silence hides blades, faith is the most dangerous currency of all.

As the caravan pushes deeper into the wastes, Zaynab discovers that the holy man at her side knows more about her husband's debts—and her enemies' plans—than any stranger should. With a silver dagger at her hip and a fortune in spices tempting every shadow, she must decide whether the dervish is her deliverance or the architect of her ruin. *The Dervish and the Deception* is a spellbinding tale of survival and betrayal, where the line between saint and sinner is drawn in sand.