In the year 1485, a daughter is born to
Muslim parents who fled to Morocco as the conquering armies
of Ferdinand and Isabella advanced through Andalusia. The
baby is promised as wife to her father's friend, also a
nobleman from Spain. Unlike her brother, Zuhra is destined
to grow up mostly inside the walls of the family kasbah in
Chaouen, a secluded village high in the Rif Mountains,
governed by her father, a descendant of Prophet Muhammed.
Indulged and free from care, her childhood is confined and
protected.
When she marries at sixteen, Zuhra's
world swiftly expands to include Berbers, Jews, sultans,
pirates, Christian captives, and an unpredictable family.
With an independent spirit and persistent curiosity, her
life as a traditional Muslim woman moves from duty and
devotion to fame and notoriety, then romance and adventure.

Sayyida Zuhra al-Hurra, called both Renaissance
woman and Pirate Queen, rules a city-state for a quarter
century at a time of turbulent historical shifts-the
dominance of Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean, Spanish
and Portuguese invasions of North Africa, New World voyages,
and the Ottoman Empire's advance toward Europe. Facing loss
and betrayal, Zuhra meets the challenges of a wider world
with resilience and audacity.