Joan Seabrook, an aspiring archaeologist from England, travels to the ancient city of Muscat with her fiancé Rory. Joan dreams of exploring the abandoned Jabrin Castle and finding the treasure buried there. Oman is a country lost in time - harsh, mysterious, torn apart by internal contradictions; and obtaining permission for archaeological research in Jabrin is proving nearly impossible. Joan's disappointment is softened by her acquaintance with the idol of her youth, the famous traveler Maud Vickery, who has lived in Muscat for many years like a recluse. Both women have their own goals and their own secrets. As their friendship grows, Maud's stories and thirst for adventure increasingly capture Joan's imagination, and it is not immediately that she begins to guess the true motives of her friend, who, with her help, sets in motion a chain of turbulent events. Will an English girl find her way home from this beautiful but dangerous country? For the first time in Russian!