One night. Four friends. Countless secrets.

1964. Karachi, Pakistan. Rozeena is running out of time. She’ll lose her home—her parents’ safe haven since fleeing India and the terrors of Partition—if her medical career doesn’t take off soon. But when success entangles Rozeena with Karachi’s elite, she may have to pay an unexpected price. Meanwhile, the interwoven lives of her childhood best friends—Haaris, Aalya, and Zohair—seem to be unraveling with each passing day. The once small and inconsequential differences between their families’ social standing now threaten to divide them. Even the growing feelings drawing Rozeena and Haaris together aren’t enough to keep their lives from spinning further apart. Because one fateful night, someone ends up dead, and the life they once took for granted shatters.

2019. Rozeena receives a call from a voice she never thought she’d hear again. What begins as a request to look after a friend’s teenage granddaughter, struggling with her own demons, grows into an unconventional friendship—one that unearths buried secrets and just might ruin everything Rozeena has worked so hard to protect.

For readers of The Henna Artist and Fifty Words for Rain, UNDER THE TAMARIND TREE heralds the arrival of a distinctive new literary voice and shows us the high-stakes ripple effects of generational trauma, and the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love.

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Nigar Alam spent her childhood in Turkey, Nigeria, Italy, Kenya, Indonesia, and the United States before returning to Karachi. With an MBA and CPA, she has worked in both brand management and auditing. Currently, Alam teaches at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and lives with her family in Minnesota.

Kathleen West’s novels have been best- books picks by Real Simple, Newsweek, People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Good Morning America, and the New York Post. A schoolteacher with more than 20 years’ experience, Kathleen is particularly interested in the topics of motherhood, ambition, and competitive parenting. Her newest novel, Home Or Away, was published in March 2022. She is a life-long Minnesotan and lives in Minneapolis with her family.

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