What Will Survive

July 1997: Lebanon makes the British headlines when an Englishwoman dies in a landmine explosion near the town of Nabatiyeh. The dead woman is Aisha, a former model with an Egyptian mother, visiting the Middle East for the first time. Reporters descend on her Somerset home, linking her death with Princess Diana's high profile campaign for a ban on landmines. Amanda, a young features writer, is sent to Beirut to write a human interest story about Aisha's death. There she finds a city only just recovering from more than a decade of civil war. Lebanon is still occupied by Israel in the south, prompting a bloody conflict with Hezbollah, and she realises that thousands of ordinary Lebanese are trapped between two ruthless enemies. She begins to suspect that Aisha may have been another victim of this forgotten war. But with a wayward princess and a charismatic new prime minister making headlines at home, how can she make sure that justice is done for Aisha - and for Lebanon?Author BiographyJoan Smith was born in London on 27th August 1953. She is a columnist, novelist and critic. She is the author of Moralities, the highly praised Misogynies and five detective novels, two of which have been filmed by the BBC. She has written columns for The Independent on Sunday and The Guardian and her reviews appear in the Financial Times, The Sunday Times and The Independent. She is a regular contributor to BBC radio. She lives in London.