Kostas and Defne are two young lovers in Cyprus in 1974. Kostas is Greek and Christian, while Defne is Turkish and Muslim. Their love is a forbidden one, so they meet secretly under a fig tree in a tavern in Nicosia. When war breaks out, they are torn apart, unsure if they will ever meet again. Years later, their teenage daughter Ada grows up in London, grappling with her identity and heritage. Her only link to Cyprus is a fig tree that grows in the garden of her home.

Nonso is a poor chicken farmer in Nigeria who falls in love with Ndali, a trainee pharmacist. When Ndali’s family rejects him as son-in-law due to his lack of education, Nonso sells his ancestral belongings to study at a university in Northern Cyprus. However, upon arrival, he discovers that the university position is a scam, leaving him stranded in Cyprus, far from his beloved Ndali.

“The Sunrise” is set in Famagusta (present-day Northern-Cyprus) in the early 1970s. Back then, Famagusta was a bustling seaside resort city, thriving with tourists and in full development. The novel tells the story of Famagusta before and after the invasion of the Turkish army, through the perspectives of two families – one Greek, the other Turkish – who remain in the deserted city after the invasion.

“Ledra Street” is a collection of short stories by Nora Nadjarian, set in Nicosia, the divided capital of Cyprus.

“Census” is an allegory of the nativity story, set in a mountainous village in Cyprus around the mid-20th century. Maria, a cancer patient, spends a night with the handsome Michael and gives birth to an invisible life force that spreads a healing energy across the island.

“Bitter Lemons of Cyprus” is an autobiographical novel by the celebrated British author Lawrence Durrel, who spent three years in Cyprus in the 1950s. Durrel moved to Cyprus seeking peace of mind and time to write. However, despite the idyllic Mediterranean setting, he found the island teeming with political and revolutionary agitation. Cypriots were fighting the British for independence, and soon, Greek and Turkish Cypriots began fighting each other.

“Exodus” is a novel about the founding of the state of Israel, but a significant part of the novel is set in Cyprus. Jewish Holocaust survivors try to escape from a British internment camp by obtaining a steamship named ‘Exodus’ and trying to leave the port of Famagusta. The British blockade the port, fearing that mass Jewish immigration will disrupt British rule in Palestine.