[1][2] The title references actual news photos taken during 2013 protests in Turkey's Gezi Park of a woman with black hair, wearing a red dress and carrying a white bag, who was attacked by the police.

[1][2][3][4] Ackerman was based in Turkey for several years as a journalist, and the book was released the week of the seventh anniversary of the protests.

[1][3][7] It focuses on Murat, a "debt-ridden" Turkish real estate developer, and his wife Catherine, an American who trained as a dancer and is now a museum trustee and art patron.

[1][2][3][7] Catherine wants to leave Murat and return to the US with their son William and her lover, an American photographer named Peter.

[1][2] Another character, Kristin, an American diplomat, is linked to Murat, Catherine, and Peter, and influences much of the action.