Simple story of two experienced expats (they met whilst working in Africa) who find that life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is very different. I know a dozen or so people who made their livings in SA for a few years and this book sounds like their description of their lives. The challenging nature of the climate and the culture are beautifully described, as I would expect from Hilary Mantell. I liked the way that the main protagonist, Frances, a career cartographer who is unable to work in Jedda, becomes like a prisoner in her own home whilst her civil engineer husband, Andrew, goes to work. Her personal diary adds to the telling of the story and expresses her "square peg in a round hole" feeling towards the country and the expat community.
The ending is ambiguous as are many aspects of life in Saudi and the novel finishes with Frances' isolation and ennui in a new home after the events in their initial flat on Ghazzah Street force them to move.