"Ahmed is a camel herder, like his father was before him and like his young son Abdullahi will be after him. Together with his wife, Jamila, and the other families in their nomadic freeg, Ahmed's days are ruled by the rhythms of changing seasons, the needs of his beloved camel herd, and the rich legends and stories that link his life to centuries of Bedouin tradition. But Ahmed's world is threatened-by the French colonists just beyond the horizon, the urbanization of the modern world, and a drought far more deadly than any his people have known. At first, Ahmed attempts to ignore these forces by concentrating on the ancient routines of herding life. But these routines are broken when Zarga, a beloved calf, goes missing. Saddling his trusted camel Laamesh and singing the songs of his fathers for strength, Ahmed sets off to recover Zarga on a perilous journey that will bring him face to face with the best and the worst of humanity and test every facet of his Bedouin desert survival skills"--