A throne without an heir... A jealous brother, ready to seize power at any cost... It's the summer of 1989. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait is still more than a year in the future. The twin towers of the World Trade Center stand tall, the US Pentagon untouched by the hand of terrorism. The first and second Gulf Wars are not yet flickers in the minds of military strategists. But the apparent peace of the Middle East is no more than an illusion. A seething turmoil of brutality, deceit, and cross-cultural hatred lies just below the surface, ready at any second to break forth in a cataclysm of fire and blood. In this calm moment before the storm walk two Americans, both come to answer the callings of their professions. Simon Rhodes, a fallen CIA operative turned security consultant, is here to make a difference in this strange land if he can. Danielle McKenzie is a registered nurse, hired to tend patients in a hospital that practices more than medicine. Drawn into the violent intrigues of an Arabian royal family, they must choose between a murderous lie that may preserve the serenity of a nation, or a truth that can only lead to war.