Salim the coachman is renowned for his storytelling. One day, however, he is cursed to lose his voice, and can only regain it if he is given seven gifts. His seven best friends eventually set out to tell him a story each, in a take on 1001 Nights.

Schami has two major themes (in the work I've read, at least) - the city of Damascus, and traditional Arabic storytelling. Both are done well here, though neither is explored as thoroughly as in The Dark Side of Love (which was epic and beautiful, and got a lot more into Schami's critiques of Syrian politics, though there is a little of that here). The stories that are told within the story are charming, and run the gamut from fairy tales to episodes from the speakers' lives.