The story is set in Lebanon, during the civil war and told from the point of view of a ten-year-old girl who, although has no idea what the fighting is all about, is caught up in the middle of it all. All Ayesha knows is that the war has had tragic consequences for her family, left them homeless and cut them off from friends on the other side of the city.

Oranges in No Man’s Land went on to win the Hull Children’s Book Award and was shortlisted for the Canadian Surrey Schools Book of the Year Award and the North East Book Award. The book is read and explored in primary schools across the UK and has been identified as one of the top 50 Children's Books celebrating cultural diversity in the UK by LoveReading4Kids. Elizabeth Laird lived with her husband and son for a short time in Beirut when a civil war was in progress, which went on to inspire the events that form the story of Oranges in No Man’s Land. As an author who has travelled and lived in many different countries, Laird is often inspired by her surroundings and turns them into stories and novels.