Pakistan, 2083 AD.

For Avaan, a gun in his hand feels as natural as breathing. As a Pakistani without citizenship, living under martial law and religious bigotry, violence has become a way of life. What respite he had from the world — his brother, his family, and Doua, the love of his life — was snatched away in a military raid.

Now broken, Avaan finds himself involved in a civil war that poisons everything he's ever touched. The army shadows his every move, a mob boss wants him dead, and a legendary resistance leader has taken a keen interest in him. But there is a ray of hope: Avaan discovers that Doua is alive. Obsessed with finding her, he takes a stand against the army, the mob, and Pakistan itself with the only thing he could ever count on: the gun in his hand. (From Cormorant Books)

Saad T. Farooqi is a London, Ont.-based writer who spent most of his life as a Pakistani expat in Dubai. His writing has appeared in many magazines and he holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Kingston University London. White World is his first book.