Siesta Dream shines a spotlight on female courage. Its central protagonist, Masouda al-Qarih, is an Algerian mother of three who lives through two difficult periods: French colonialism and national independence. At the height of the War of Liberation, she bravely repels an attempted assault by a traitor masquerading as a freedom fighter, who spreads rumours in the village that her husband was killed by the revolutionaries for treachery. In the post-independence period, she is shunned because of these rumours and forced to leave the village. Her son Abdul Qader Al-Makh is assassinated by the rising extremist Islamic movement. Yet Masouda never gives up, courageously facing the collapse unfolding in the nation. When her other son, Idris, appears to avenge his brother’s murder, the novel suggests that betrayal of the revolution and betrayal of independence are two sides of the same coin.