THE OPIUM PRINCE

Jasmine Aimaq’s literary debut explores Afghanistan on the eve of a violent revolution and the far-reaching consequences of a Kochi child’s tragic death.

Born to an American mother and a late Afghan war hero, Daniel Sajadi has spent his life navigating a complex identity. After years in Los Angeles and Washington DC, he returns to Kabul at the helm of a US foreign aid agency dedicated to eradicating the poppy fields that feed the world’s opiate addiction.

But on the drive out of Kabul for an anniversary trip with his wife, Daniel accidentally hits and kills a young Kochi girl named Telaya. As he faces her people, a mysterious stranger named Taj Maleki intercedes on his behalf, upending Daniel’s life in ways he could not have imagined. Wracked with guilt and visions of Telaya, Daniel begins to unravel. Running from his crumbling marriage, he finds himself haunted by the legacy of his father and threats from Taj in a quickly destabilizing country.

This unconventional literary thriller reveals the invisible lines between criminal enterprises and political regimes—and one man’s search for meaning as the past and present collide.