Thanks to my husband, Abdel, for helping me to shine a light upon a mysterious culture I would never otherwise have had a chance to comprehend, and for giving me the ancient Tuareg amulet on which the story is based; to Mohamed and the school at Tiouada; to Hassan, our desert guide, and the camels who bore my weight and shocking inexpertise without too much complaint; and to everyone who patiently answered my many dense questions about the nomadic life. To Emma, Karen and Philippa for their support through the writing of this complex book; to Venetia and Jenny at Viking Penguin for their determination and passion; to Danny Baror for his unflagging faith and encouragement.
Being neither an anthropologist nor a linguist, I owe a great debt to my written sources; but any errors of interpretation are almost certainly my own. I’ve listed my main sources above for any who wish to pursue this fascinating subject further.