The Snake-Catcher's Daughter (LIN)

Was Garvin, Commandant of the Cairo Police, really trying to get to the bottom of allegations of corruption in the police, or merely indulging in ambitious power games? And what about his eccentric deputy, McPhee - is he finally going round the bend? And what of the Mamur Zapt himself: suspected, but is he above suspicion? His girlfriend, Zeinab, is not the only one who would like to know. The Mamur Zapt's attempts to answer these questions take him into uncharted territory: the underworld of Cairo's female rites; the arcane profession of one of Egypt's traditional crafts - snake-catching.