Farah Diba is the former Queen and Empress of Iran. She is the widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, and only Empress of modern Iran. Though the titles and distinctions of the Iranian Imperial Family were abolished within Iran by the Islamic government, she is still styled Empress or Shahbanou, out of courtesy, by the foreign media as well as by supporters of the monarchy. Farah Pahlavi has lived a life of extremes: a loving marriage to the Shah that ended with his death in 1980; a period of luxury in the court followed by years of exile and loss. This book evokes her life.