This novel, set in contemporary Palestine, centers on Sonia, a British-Palestinian actress who returns to Palestine after a long absence to visit her sister Haneen, who lives in Haifa and teaches at a university in Tel Aviv. While Haneen and Sonia are not estranged per se, there is a distance there, to be bridged. Haneen introduces Sonia to a close friend of hers, Mariam, a theatre director who is putting together a production of "Hamlet" in the West Bank. It is art but it is also an act of resistance.
Mariam invites Sonia to be a part of it. Initially reluctant (mirroring her reluctance to see herself as anything but a visitor), Sonia eventually agrees, and starts to rehearse for the part of Gertrude. She meets the rest of the cast who come from diverse backgrounds within the region and as rehearsals progress, the dynamics of the cast shift and evolve. The play becomes a focal point of the novel, serving as a lens through which the characters explore themes of occupation, resistance, and the search for identity.
While the narrative centres around 'Hamlet', you don't need to have read the play to enjoy this book.