The New York Times bestselling author Robert Littell presents a suspenseful and brilliantly topical new thriller that looks at the cycle of political violence in the Middle East. In the near future, an unprecedented Arab-Israeli settlement is brokered by a visionary female president of the United States. But this historic moment is shattered when a well-known fundamentalist rabbi is taken hostage by a legendary Palestinian terrorist. As the Israelis close in, the hostage and the hostage taker develop bizarre bonds and form a terrifying alliance. In the tradition of John le CarrA(c) and Graham Greene, Littell dissects the culture of violence by searchingthe corrupted consciences of the people ensnared within it.