Desertified Waters, Hazim Kamaledin - who is both narrator and author of the novel - is murdered. Kamaledin is a filmmaker who was once famous but has been forgotten. Famous because of his film, "Desertified Waters", which won the highest award in Saddam Hussein's Iraq: the film, intended to be critical of the regime, is cut so much by the censor that it does just the opposite. Intentionally forgotten as a result of winning the award: as those in cultural circles know the truth about how the film has been distorted, but are afraid to open up a can of worms from the past, especially since the occupation has re-imposed the forceful censorship of the past. Nobody knows the truth about his death. Some say that terrorists are responsible, others that he was a victim of a random strike at the market by the American occupying forces or those working for them.--Provided by vendor.