City on the Edge

In 1972, 13-year-old Graham and his family arrive in Beirut for his father’s new assignment in the U.S. Foreign Service. They move into an apartment building on a hill near the sea. Everything about his new home is exciting for Graham; he looks forward to snorkeling off the reefs in the Mediterranean, and making friends among the other children of U.S. government officials. With two new friends, Graham has adventures, builds a fort in a brush pile, and spies on the neighborhood with binoculars. Then one day, when Graham is alone in the fort, he sees one man stab another, who falls dead right outside the brush pile; Graham runs away as fast as he can. As the mystery of the murder unfolds, the boys find out that the victim worked at the foreign service office in a minor job. The boys are in increasing danger as the murderer’s identity becomes clearer.