When foreign correspondents Lidia, Mike, and Steve arrive in Beirut in 1982, in the midst of the burning civil war that was consuming the city, they expect danger and chaos. Thrown together inside the legendary Commodore Hotel, they navigate through collapsing frontlines and sudden ceasefires. All three soon realize they have landed in the very heart of a hell created by one of the bloodiest civil wars the world has ever seen. They share cigarettes, arguments, secrets, and the kind of fear that binds strangers tighter than friendship. But when the city falls silent in a way no ceasefire ever brings, the three realize they have missed something terrible, something the soldiers refuse to explain. Forced to flee through a Lebanon split between burning streets and untouched coastal luxury, they escape by sea, carrying with them the smell of smoke and the weight of unanswered questions.A story of war, friendship, longing, and the memories that refuse to fade. This is a book about the people who report history. A history that still echoes today.

When foreign correspondents Lidia, Mike, and Steve arrive in Beirut in 1982, in the midst of the burning civil war that was consuming the city, they expect danger and chaos. Thrown together inside the legendary Commodore Hotel, they navigate through collapsing frontlines and sudden ceasefires. All three soon realize they have landed in the very heart of a hell created by one of the bloodiest civil wars the world has ever seen. They share cigarettes, arguments, secrets, and the kind of fear that binds strangers tighter than friendship. But when the city falls silent in a way no ceasefire ever brings, the three realize they have missed something terrible, something the soldiers refuse to explain. Forced to flee through a Lebanon split between burning streets and untouched coastal luxury, they escape by sea, carrying with them the smell of smoke and the weight of unanswered questions.A story of war, friendship, longing, and the memories that refuse to fade. This is a book about the people who report history. A history that still echoes today.