Based on the prizewinning novel by Monica Ali and set in the heart of the Bangladeshi community in East London this love story provides a rare insight into the private lives of Moslems in Britain today. Nazneen is a timid girl living happily in a remote village in Bangladesh until tragedy strikes in the family and an arranged marriage with an older man results in her relocation to London. Seventeen years later she finds herself with two children living in an impoverished area in a high rise flat, suffocated in an unfulfilling relationship and seemingly with no way out of her situation. When she meets Karim, an exciting young Moslem entrepreneur, her life changes and they have a powerful and touching love affair. Set against the backdrop of 9/11, this film explores the feelings of alienation experienced by the community in the face of the consequent anti-Moslem backlash and the lovers eventually grow apart as he becomes increasingly radicalised in reaction to events. During the making of the film the original location had to be changed in reaction to objections raised by local residents, primarily to the way Nazneen's husband is depicted. In fact this is a sensitive and three dimensional drama that deals with the many areas of difficulty encountered by Moslems trying to integrate into British society in the 21st century.