Quentin Cope

The Arabian Quentin Cope

Beware of a woman with a broken heart ...! Scarlett Gleeson is a tough 28 year old cookie, ambitious, sexually confident and determined to leave her unhappy past well and truly behind in Black Oak, Indiana The only remaining link for Scarlett is a snapshot photograph showing two young girls standing in a park. Scarlett undergoes a dramatic transformation when she hits New York and emerges as Leonora Carrington-Jones working at the salubrious Carlisle hotel, a place synonymous with wealth and power, working for beauty salon owner Madame Durand. It's 1976 and Leonora has a vision of her being a hair stylist to the stars and lover to one or two British lords or realistically, their more athletically suitable sons. Hareb bin Aziz al Hareb, a Saudi Prince is a man of considerable substance and the sparks of a passionate love affair are kindled. His stay in New York is for business and once he returns to the Middle East a love-sick but confident Leonora agrees to meet him in Dubai. But reality and fantasy are poles apart as a disillusioned Leonora becomes enmeshed in a poisonous web of deceit, lies and sexual abuse. How can real love turn so sour, so quickly, transforming dreams of love to ones of morbid despair? Ironically salvation appears in the form of Susan who comes to the aid of a mentally battered, bruised, and disenchanted Leonora, someone fighting for her life, even for her survival in an alien world where females are powerless and exploited purely for the pleasures of men. Being a long way from home, almost friendless, alone and isolated has made Leonora easy prey. But some women are made of stronger mettle and can look danger in the face without flinching, seeking retribution without suffering the pangs of guilt. Some women consider that justice means 'an eye for an eye' ... and if necessary, 'a life for a life!' But what about the fading black and white snapshot in a battered, well travelled tin frame resting at Scarlett's bedside in her New York apart