Perdita Tree, the dangerously bored and irresistibly beautiful wife of an MP is kidnapped in Albania. Adored by her kidnapper, Alfred, who believes all things English are perfect, she is persuaded to rescue the Albanians from their dire history, and is vain enough to imagine that she can. The year is 1991, democracy is coming, but are the Albanians ready for it? And are the Albanians ready for Perdita? A beguilingly simple story which considers the nature of love, longing and betrayal, and, above all, the art of being free.