Laila dies while performing a sex act. Her lover Tariq, is alarmed. He doesn’t know what to do, so he chops up her body and disposes of her body. Her husband Firas is blamed. He is lazy and selfish but he is not a killer. Laila details her marriage. How it began and when it went downhill. She was going to divorce him but she hesitated. She recalls how there was physical abuse. She felt suffocated by Firas and she crossed that line during an argument.

Tariq is in a good marriage so why does he stray? Laila and Tariq have a Dom-Sub relationship. She is the dom. But it’s not just a shared interest, it’s love. The book explores what it means for a man willing to give up the lead to please a woman. While other books I have read touch on the Dom being a moody control freak trying to exert dominance, Laila manages to make the smooth transition. Tariq has the urge to relinquish control.

Laila is in a bad marriage and that’s why she wants a divorce. She watches as Firas becomes a suspect. Tariq’s wife discusses the case speaking her thoughts on the tragedy.

Laila doesn’t keep you in suspense of the motives of the means of the characters. I easily raced through the second half of the novel. I highly recommend this book for fans of Women's Fiction. Also, for the psychological aspects of the dark side of human nature. To me, this is an unusual narrative. I mean this in a positive light. I was thrilled, chilled, and haunted by my perception of toxic relationships. I think I get why Fadi Zaghmout went to all the trouble to expose toxic masculinity. There’s no delicate way to put this: it’s full of immodest details that are justified. He struck the right balance.