House Number 12 Block Number 3

Book excerpt: Karachi, Pakistan (20th century) - Nadia has changed. She has been waking in the middle of the night in fits of anxiety, avoiding friends and family, and skipping university classes. With the recent death of her father, Nadia's condition has further spiraled. There is no acceptable diagnosis for her behavior and speculations abound. Whatever the cause of this mysterious affliction, Nadia's mother is at pains to keep it hidden from the community at large; she is worried Nadia will be labeled as mad, and she knows all too well the taboos that mental illness brings with it.While the country tethers on political unrest, Nadia seems to get worse by the day. Her family desperately searches for the cause of, and the cure for her mysterious malady.