Lost in Mecca follows a Kuwaiti family’s desperate search for their missing child during Hajj, uncovering the city's hidden underworld. As truths emerge, the novel probes justice, privilege, and the worth of human life in a gripping, unforgettable journey through loss and awakening.

Lost in Mecca is a powerful and heart-wrenching novel by Bothayna Al-Essa about loss and the search for meaning. The story follows a seven-year-old Kuwaiti boy who goes missing during the Hajj pilgrimage, introducing his parents to a darker side of Mecca. As they search for their child, the family uncovers painful truths about political and social realities that force them to confront their privilege. Through oscillating points of view, the novel exposes a world of crime that raises deeper questions about what justice means today and how our world determines the value of human life. Lost in Mecca is a stunning work of contemporary Arabic literature for its exploration of the contemporary human condition in a thought-provoking and an unforgettable way.