Martin McCrary, an aging legend of the CIA's Clandestine Service, is in serious trouble. His career is on the rocks when he's contacted by Fatima Lavasani, an Iranian woman he knew and loved as a young man but hasn't seen for many years. Fatima shares a terrible secret and the couple struggles to survive a terrorist plot that carries them from the streets of New Orleans to Vienna, Tehran and the Caucasus. Set in the first years of the Obama administration, "The Sword of the Prophet" is both a love story and a timely examination of contemporary issues, to include America's War on Terrorism and our complicated relationship with the Republic of Iran. No ordinary spy story, the Prophet treats both heros and villains as real people, with comprehensible if sometimes twisted motivations. The novel challenges the reader to examine preconceived notions about America's place in the world and rewards the reader with a fresh perspective.