Misunderstood by Westerners, yet enchanting to visitors: Iran is a place where leading a double life has become the norm.

In Couchsurfing in Iran, award-winning author Stephan Orth spends sixty-two days on the road in this mysterious Islamic republic to provide a revealing, behind-the-scenes look at life in one of the world’s most closed societies. Experiencing daily the “two Irans” that coexist side by side—the “theocracy, where people mourn their martyrs” in mausoleums, and the “hide-and-seekocracy, where people hold secret parties and seek worldly thrills instead of spiritual bliss”—he learns that Iranians have become experts in navigating around their country’s strict laws.

Getting up close and personal with locals, he covers more than 5,000 kilometers, peering behind closed doors to uncover the inner workings of a country where public show and private reality are strikingly opposed.