Rukhsana is a spirited young journalist working for the Kabul Daily in Afghanistan. She takes care of her ill, widowed mother and her younger brother, Jahan. With the arrival of a summons for Rukhsana to appear before the infamous Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the familys world is shattered. The Minister, Zorak Wahidi, has two goals in mind: to threaten the anti-Taliban news reporters and to announce the Talibans intention to hold a cricket tournament, the winner of which will represent Afghanistan in international cricket and give the brutal regime a cloak of respectability in the world.Rukhsana knows this is a ludicrous ideathe Taliban could never embrace a game rooted in civility, fair play and equality. And no one in Afghanistan even plays cricketno one, that is, except Rukhsana.This could be, however, a way to get her male cousins and her brother out of Afghanistan for good. But Wahidi has a third goal in mindto marry Rukhsana. The union would be her death sentence, wrenching her away from her family and placing her under Wahidis complete control. Forced into hiding and desperate to escape the country, Rukhsana realizes that Wahidi may have given her a way out, too. When her loyal, beloved cousins ask for her help, she sets about teaching them how to win their own freedomwith a bat and a ball.