'' Moth Smoke '' is a novel written by Mohsin Hamid , published in 2000 . It tells the story of Darashikoh Shezad , a banker in Lahore , Pakistan , who loses his job , falls in love with his best friend 's wife , and plunges into a life of drugs and crime . It uses the historical trial of the liberal Mughal prince Dara Shikoh by his brother Aurangzeb as an allegory for the state of Pakistan at the time of the 1998 nuclear tests
1998 nuclear tests
Chagai-I
Moth Smoke