And years later, when she finally evolved a mind that could examine itself, she wondered how such concepts as fear of her own thoughts, shame of her own bodythe very vessel that nature fashioned and her soul adornedarose at all. When did her body become something alienseparate from her? So begins UNBOWED, the story of Basma, an obedient wife who makes an unwitting decision with far-reaching consequences. Filled with sex, forbidden love, shocking brutality, unflinching feminist prose, and chador-wearing gladiators carrying AK-47s, nevertheless, UNBOWED is a story of Hope. Set in present day cosmopolitan cities of New York, London and Paris, with their burgeoning immigrant populations, and spanning other international locales, UNBOWED weaves together three plot lines to illuminate the violent extremes some patriarchal cultures have gone toto reinforce absolute power over women and girlsand the equally extreme, yet opposite, paths three women embark on, to change the game.