An Iranian Mosaic follows the lives and the friendship of three different families. The book is divided into three parts: the nineteen fifties, sixties and seventies. The story begins in May 1955, in Tehran, when the Jarari family is attacked because they are Baha''i''s, a religious minority group in Iran. It is decided that Husayn, 12, and Elahe, 11, will go to Manchester, England to stay with the Townsend family, and attend school with Elizabeth, 14 and Thomas, 12. It is very exciting and very scary for them to be so far from home.

The story follows the lives of the four children in England, and back to a summer adventure in Iran. It then follows them to university in Geneva, Switzerland, where they become involved in communist intrigue. In the third part, they are adults back in Tehran and the story follows their children, Rory, Sarah and Caspian. Tehran is in turmoil. The Shah and Shahbanu leave the country to go into exile, and the Ayatollah Khomeini returns to lead the revolution.