When Anthony Shadid-one of four New York Times reporters captured in Libya as the region erupted-was freed, he went home. Not to Boston, Beirut, or Oklahoma, where he was raised by his Lebanese-American family, but to an ancient estate built by his great-grandfather, a place filled with memories of a lost era when the Middle East was a world of grace, grandeur, and unexpected departures. For two years previous, Shadid had worked to reconstruct the house and restore his spirit after both had weathered war. Now Shadid tells the story of the house's re-creation, revealing its mysteries and recovering the lives that have passed through it. He juxtaposes past and present as he traces the house's renewal along with his family's flight from Lebanon and resettlement in America. This is an unforgettable memoir of the world's most volatile landscape.