The most important story is the one we tell ourselves

The Girl from Dujail once ran through nightmares and date orchards as Saddam Hussein executed her family. Now, as Dr. Maya Russell, she sprints from one casual encounter to the next, using raw sensuality to numb the pain and keep true intimacy at bay. But when she performs a life-saving abortion on an autistic thirteen-year-old girl, Maya finds herself at the center of a political firestorm she can no longer outrun.

When Texas Governor Wade Callahan targets her for prosecution to fuel his presidential ambitions, the walls of Maya’s carefully constructed life begin to crumble. As her fate entangles with the fractured family of her patient, Maya is forced to stop running. Reconnecting with her ex-husband, she embarks on a radical journey of psychological exploration and reclamation.

Through interweaving timelines and perspectives, Mayan Ruins explores how bodies become battlegrounds, how sex can be both shield and sword, and how the stories we tell ourselves can both imprison and liberate us.