Frank Emmanuel

Middle East expert falls in love with Muslima journalist: their passionate affair ends in disaster. When they meet again, she seems transformed and sends him away. Will he find her again and bring back her erstwhile persona? Or will he, too, succumb to the demands of the ever more radical cult she has disappeared in - and whose charismatic leader desires her for himself? What started as small-scale romance grows into global threat. Highlighting courage in the face of overwhelming odds, this series mixes love and suspense with politics, religion, and eventually - terror. MARTYR is at once cross-cultural tale of romantic and political dilemma, terrorism thriller, and psychological triangle with a paranormal tinge. The epic will transport you from Amsterdam and Brussels to Lebanon, and thence to a forest castle in a secret European location. Islam, it appears, may be understood in various ways. By turns tender and terrifying, this saga incorporates decades of research on extremism and fundamentalism. In the end, is this a message of hope? Is victory worth the price?