Zummurrud—the spirited, clever slave girl sold in the marketplace yet able to escape every situation and seize her freedom. Alishâr is the spoilt heir who squanders his fortune and ends up begging across the city. The young heroine dazzles with her adventurous spirit, intelligence, and lightning-quick escapes from danger.

One outlandish situation follows another, and the bland—though endearing—hero must pull himself together or lose his beloved forever. Once again, the tales of One Thousand and One Nights remind us: liberated women are not an invention of the twentieth-century West. We are far from the frail girl patiently waiting for her prince to rescue her.