Al sees Shezzy's blue hijab against the grayness of the world.

Shezzy is quiet and lonely at school.

Al and Shezzy share a dream of dancing.

Shezz is serious about dance.

Shezz concentrates on the music and her movement.

Al takes The Place very seriously.

Al is totally focused on the music.

Al and Shezzy start to come into each other's orbits.

Al sees Shezzy for the first time.

Al and Shezzy are mesmerised by each other.

Shezzy is overwhelmed by Al and says "Mine" to him.

Al's "friends" are not happy. The circle of wolves closes in.

Shezzy takes the bus home, in misery.

Al goes home, in disgrace and shame. He needs a second chance.

Shezzy visits the family of her friend, Sally Milanova. She needs a friend.

Shezzy has never known such a warm and loving family as the Milanovas. Their home is a santurary for her.

Shezzy has a sleepover at Sally's house. They talk for hours

Al goes to work at the second-hand record store, Base X.

Al talks to his friend, Ray, the owner of Base X.

Al confronts his former friends at school the following Monday.

Al does not take the racial abuse from his former friends lying down.

Shezzy confronts Al at school. Al pleads for a chance to redeem himself.

Al visits the Persian antiques shop to find a token for Shezzy.

Al finds the perfect gift "The Earrings of Orion". Shezzy wears them every day for the rest of her life.

Al's former friends attack Shezzy. Al makes his stand against them.

Shezzy is grateful for Al's support and accepts his request for a second chance.

Al walks Shezzy home from school. The rift between them will heal quickly.

In school, Shezzy finds a really good friend in Mariatu. The world has become a much less loney place.

Al and Shezzy go for their first real date. Neither of them cares about the rain.

Shezzy's impact on Al is profound. In The Place or in school, his feelings grow out of all proportion.

Al is afraid. If he opens his eyes, will his dream be over.

Al thinks it might be a form of quantum entanglement but Shezzy feels the hand of Allah in their bond.

Al and Shezzy share their first kiss as they take a walk along the canal after a night dancing at The Place.

Shezzy has a vivid dream about her mother, Noor, which she takes as a blessing for her new love for Al.

Shezzy takes a trip into the city to the Persian antiques shop, to buy a gift for Al.

Shezzy buys the pendant that Al calls "Hands of Entanglement" and which he wears every day for the rest of his life.

In Base X, Al finds a superb, rare and signed LP about the story of Scheherazade. Ray offers it as a gift for Al to give to Shezzy.

Shezzy makes a very welcome return visit to the Milanova family home where she is welcome as part of their family.

Shezzy and Sally share some wonderful, close, sisterly times together.

Shezzy introduces Al to Sally. They make an instant rapport and friendship.

Al and Shezzy spend a day at the local antiques market.

Al steals a kiss from Shezzy, under an archway and out of sight.

Al and Shezzy say the sacred words to each other, under their secret oak tree.

Al's former friend, Milo, informs Al's racist brother, Leo, about his relationship with Shezzy. A plot is hatched.

The security guard is horrified at the sight of Al and Shezzy being brutally attacked on the street outside his building.

Al carries the terribly injured Shezzy to waiting emergency services after the have been racially attacked.

The ER nurse tries to console Al who refuses to leave Shezzy's side, even for one moment.

DJ Anton visits Al and Shezzy in the hospital. He will do what is needed to protect his kids.

Shezzy's father and brother arrive at the hospital. The storm has landed.

Shezzy has been torn from Al. His world has shattered.

Shezzy has been torn from Al. Her world has shattered.

Shezzy clings to the scarf that Al gave her at the hospital. She does not know when or if she will ever see him again.

Al's father, Martin, takes him home. Al is deeply traumatized and filled with rage.

Martin collapses under the stress when he realises that the attack was orchestrated by his other son, Leo. He decides to go to an AA meeting.

DJ Anton's men hunt Leo down and force him to leave the city, forever.

Shezzy is forced to face her father's wrath for failing to follow the family's strict code of conduct for women.

Al rushes to stand with Shezzy against her father's wrath and to plead their case. Reza is not listening.

Sally visits Shezzy to give her medical attention and moral support.

Shezzy's brother, Majid, announces he is leaving the family home.

Shezzy's best friend and spiritual sister, Sally, is developing feelings for her school friend, Sara, but keeps this quiet from Shezzy.

Ray and Azada take off on their first date. Looks like they were made for each other.

Reza, traumatized by the events inside his family, is haunted by his ghosts. Shezzy still helps him.

Shezzy finds comfort and female solidarity in her neighbor and friend, Shirin Azadi.

Returning from work on the bus, Martin sees a lunar halo and interprets it as a message from his late wife, the mother Al never had.

Sally nervously confesses her feelings for Sara to Shezzy. Sally is worried that Shezzy's conservative traditions will harm their sisterly relationship.

Sally and Sara mutually pronounce their love for each other.

Reza goes into the city to clear his head and to think. While there, he get's a message from his late wife, Noor.

Reza proposes to Shirin and she accepts but only under certain conditions.

Al and Martin do some father/son bonding at the excellent Lebanese barber's shop in the city.

Reza agrees to meet Martin, face to face. There are many things to discuss.

Finally, Reza agrees permit the relationship between Shezzy and Al.

Al and Shezzy renew their bonds beneath their sacred oak.

Al and Shezzy return to school. They are heroes and their classmates hail their love as a positive force.

Al and Shezzy and no longer isolated and have earned the respect of their classmates.

Al had spent his enforced separation from Shezzy helping the boys from The Place install a massive upgrade.

Al and Sally work together to make Shezzy's LED-equipped outfit for the big presentation at The Place.

Shirin and Shezzy have a conversation about the realities of Shezzy's having a serious adult romantic relationship with Al and all that implies.

Shezzy, Sally and Sara together prepare for the "Bengarid! Soltāneh" event at The Place.

Shezz, The Empress of Dance. Dazzling in full imperial regalia.

Sally, Proud, feminine, empowered and present.

Sara, A young woman, totally in charge of her own destiny.

DJ Anton makes a big fuss over Sally, Sara and especially Shezzy. Sally and Sara invited to come back anytime.

Al and Shezzy perform "Bengarid! Soltāneh - First Movement: Mesh Arpeggiator Fanfare".

Al and Shezzy perform "Bengarid! Soltāneh - Second Movement: Fearful Symmetry".

Shezzy performs "Bengarid! Soltāneh - Third Movement".

Sally and Sara dance to music specially crafted for them by Al.

Sally and Sara, out, happy and proud and always welcome in The Place.

Sally and Sara, their love having bloomed, share intimate time together.

Sally, Shezzy and Sara, the three sisters share fun times together, shopping downtown on a beautiful Saturday morning.

The pair of engagement rings that Shezzy buys for her father and Shirin.

Shezzy pays a surprise visit to Al at Base X and Al must have his sneaky kiss.

Sally announces her relationship with Sara to her parents.

Shezzy presents her father and Shirin with the gift of the engagement rings at the celebration party.

Al and Shezzy notice a ripple effect in the school as if their love has encouraged others. Al's old friend, Luca, asks Shezzy's classmate, Mariatu, for a date.

Al brings Shezzy home for the first time to meet his father. Martin is utterly enchanted by her.

Al takes Shezzy to his room so they can work on planning the school concert. It is their first time alone and in private. They can only focus on each other.

Finally, after months together, they express their love physically. The experience is sacred to both of them.

Shezzy decided to spend the day with Al at Base X. She dressed in a style appropriate to her.

Ray thinks Shezzy is a really cool girl and discovers her Vangelis t-shirt is a real collector's item.

Shezzy meets Azada. They impress each other a lot and they have a lot to talk about.

Azada shows off their new BMW K 1600 motorbike. Al and Shezzy are awe-inspired.

Azada and Shezzy take off on "Die Kaiserin". For Al and Ray, it's a legendary and beautiful sight.

The Milanova family invites Al and Shezzy to have dinner. The house feels propery full for the first time.

Antonio also wants to talk to them about their future career plans.

At the Milanova family dinner, Sara performs beautifully on their piano.

The Bauer family accepts Shezzy's offer to help redecorate their house. Martin is so fond of Shezzy, he knows in his heart, she belongs with them. Al agrees.

The four friends have a cool Saturday night out at an American-style diner. But there is trouble brewing later.

They were the very best of friends. They thought of themselves as siblings and they would always look after each other.

Al was invited to a special dinner at Shezzy's family flat, to welcome him to the new family about to be formed.

After dinner, Al and Shezzy went to the roof of the block to dance. The Universe seemed to gather about them to watch.

Sara invited her friends to a Brazilian-style barbeque at her house. She called her friends "The Southern Lights". They are chosen family. Siblings.

After eating, they sang songs on the karaoke machine. Al got emotional singing "Lavender" for Shezzy.

Later, Sara sang her own song called "Linda Amizade", to celebrate their friendship.

The job of preparing for the school concert was given to Al. He soon had the place a hive of activity.

Al assigns the job of boss of the Electical Squad to Mariatu. She is the most qualified. Her skills earn her respect, even from the specialist crew from The Place.

Al discussed performers' requirements with Katy and Mariatu.

Naturally, Al takes the opportunity for a sneaky kiss backstage.

When Al discovers that his old friend Luca and Mariatu are now a couple, he takes the opportunity to make peace and bury the axe.

When DJ Anton's boys discovered Shezzy working in the backstage area, they made a big fuss over their little "Empress".

When the preparation work was done for the concert, Al and Shezzy danced together, just to test the new sound and light rigs.

DJ Anton arrive at the concert in typical flamboyant style.

Ray and Azada arrive on their huge BMW K 1600. The students outside are suitably awe-stricken.

The first performance was the school orchestra and Katy's vocals.

Katy dazzled the audience with her singing talents.

Mariatu's singing and dancing performances were exceptionally strong.

The Aurora Africana dancers were exotic, energetic and highly talented.

The originality and energy of the Aurora Africana troupe were greatly appreciated.

The brooch had once belonged to Al's mother, Aylin. Martin gave the brooch to Shezzy to welcome her to his family.

Shezzy, wearing the dress that had once belonged to her mother, Noor, and the brooch of Al's mother, Aylin. She was the Queen of Muses.

Al, in his perfectly tailored Armani tuxedo made a dashing figure indeed. Many young ladies, and some not so young, were extremely impressed.

There was no doubt, Al was Shezzy prince and she his princess.

Their performance was nothing less than a triumph of human love over adversity.