The Arab Grimoire

Baghdad was a lot safer than it used to be. Everyone said so. The police barricades had been removed, the nightclubs had reopened. But the militias still threaten the government. kidnappers are still active.
And Baghdad has a reputation for magic. The Middle East once led the world in magical research. People are prepared to take huge risks to discover forgotten principles of magic. The discovery of a lost grimoire could change the world.
The Guild of Magicians in London were interested in the Arab tradition of magic. They sent their best agent, Oliver Main, to locate the magicians of Baghdad. His task was to return a stolen grimoire to its rightful owners. They also wanted him to make enquiries. But his mission was a failure. The local magical school had suffered during the war and the violence that followed. The teachers were secretive – or hostile.
But the Guild refused to give up. They sent a student, Constance. She was fluent in Arabic. Her family had contacts in the city. Could she do better?
She found that the militias were still active. Protests outside the American embassy could get violent. The Guild had warned her not to contact the male magicians. Would the female magicians be even more reclusive? Would they be more hostile? Or perhaps they would condescend to speak to a woman.
The ladies of Baghdad have decided to celebrate the end of the violence by organising a fashion show. This is magic of a different kind. But the exhibition centre is close to the American embassy. Will it suffer a similar fate?
This is an Urban Fantasy story set in Oxford, London, and Baghdad.