International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) 2023 Set in an Omani village, the book tells the story of water diviner Salem bin Abdullah, employed by the community to find and track springs hidden deep within the earth. At its centre is the aflaj, the irrigation system which is inextricably linked to village life in Oman, and has become the inspiration of many stories and legends. Alqasmi concurrently explores both the life-giving qualities of water, and its potential to bring peril and death through scarcity or flooding.