The present novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is the author's second novel that was published in 2007. It is primarily the story of two women, Mariam and Laila. Mariam happens to be an illegitimate child. She has to suffer from the stigma that surrounded her birth. Not only this, she has to endure abuse throughout her marriage. Laila, the other major character, is born a generation later. She has a privileged youth. Eventually, when their lives intersect, Laila's fate also changes and she is compelled to accept a marriage proposal given by Mariam's husband, Rasheed. It is a tale of displacement, attacks, beatings, torture, social injustice, and pitiable condition of women in the contemporary Afghan society.