September, 1956. Maude Murray is an ordinary student settling into Harvard University - until a fateful encounter with a brilliant, young Muslim professor, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, talking about God. This chance meeting thrusts her into the world of an 'unsurpassable spiritual master' none other than the Muslim Shaykh and philosopher, Frithjof Schuon. It is only when she delves deeper into the heart of the Sufi Order, quickly becoming the third wife of Schuon, that things begin to unravel.

For the first time, an insider sheds light on the secret life of Frithjof Schuon and his closest disciples - a group described by René Guénon as 'a vague organization with universalist pretensions.' Murray charts the rise and fall of the Order linked to some of the finest Muslim intellectuals, like Titus Burckhardt, Martin Lings and Huston Smith, who stood by their master.

The author delights readers with her exact, often humorous, observations of human life across different cultures, and provides powerful insights into her spiritual life, ending in her discovering the Truth she has been searching for lifelong.

Murray's memoir will hold particular interest for those acquainted with esoteric traditions, but even for the general reader. Third Wife promises to both edify and enthral.