Dora Levy Mossanen, born in Israel, moved to Iran when she was nine. At the onset of the Islamic revolution, she and her family fled to the United States. The award-winning author of the novels Harem and Courtesan, Dora's women exhibit sensual, intuitive, and cerebral traits coupled with perfect timing. She observes that it is difficult to break down an Iranian woman's will, but she is required to be more resourceful than women in liberal countries. She will find a way to educate herself, work, and expose her hair or ankle, even though concealed under a chador in a restrictive, male-dominated society.