Sheikh Hassan Ibn Ahmed might be Danielles's stepfather, but he had always treated her as his own daughter, even though she was not Arab and did not share the tranditional Arab's attitude to arranged marriage. She was horrified when she realised Hassan's dearest wish was for her to marry his nephew, Jourdan, whom she had never met. And meeting Jourdan only confirmed her decision. He was dashing and bold and handsome, and she soon fell in love with him, but he was a man of the East, brought up to think of a woman's place as within palace walls. Marriage to such a man could only eventually destroy her!
