Life is both sweet and cruel to strong-willed young shabanu, whose home is the windswept cholistan desert of pakistan. The second daughter in a family with no sons, she' s been allowed freedoms forbidden to most muslim g...Life is both sweet and cruel to strong-willed young shabanu, whose home is the windswept cholistan desert of pakistan. The second daughter in a family with no sons, she' s been allowed freedoms forbidden to most muslim girls. But when a tragic encounter with a wealthy and powerful landowner ruins the marriage plans of her older sister, shabanu is called upon to sacrifice everything she' s dreamed of.