When genteel New England spinster Jane Champlin travels to exotic Algiers seeking adventure, she hires a French cabbie, Toussaint, to show her around. But as she tries penetrating Toussaint's cheerful facade to uncover why he inexplicably exiled himself there, Jane discovers preconceptions can blind us to life's simple truths. Achmed Abdullah's wry tale mocks both provincial small-mindedness and romantic Orientalism.