Based on the harrowing real-life experiences of the author, this 500-page novel exposes the agony of being trapped in the ethereal vortex of Dubai, when things that should go right, simply do not. Mounting financial pressures lead to wicked scams, and even a jail escape – all actions that propel main character Vivek Alvares to find himself in a seemingly harmless safehouse, Mandarin Patisserie.Little does the hapless Vivek know that the tiny bakery hides a fake rough diamond trade. ‘ Mandarin Patisserie’ – just as you read in the name – is a place where ‘dreams die in a desert.’