In Khouf, a city on the windswept fringes of the Sahel desert, a woman named Noor has been sentenced to death for adultery. To the religious authorities, it makes no difference that she was actually raped. The stones that will wash away the family's dishonour in blood are ready in a pile in the village square. Only forty days to go. Confronted with Noor's resignation at her misguided fate, a French charity worker whose own life has begun to unravel, decides to take on Noor's plight and fights to have the fatwa reversed, creating a powerful bond between the two women, one that transcends culture and religion.