The novel is set in Cairo during World War II. A middle-class family, fearful of wartime bombing, moves to the old district of Jan al-Jalili, considered a safer area. Through the lives of the family and their neighbors, Mahfuz portrays everyday life in Cairo, social change, class tensions, and especially the position of women in a society caught between longstanding traditions and emerging modern influences. The book is regarded as a strong example of Mahfuz's Egyptian realist style.