Publisher's Synopsis
Ali Hassan, an Egyptian-American businessman in Brooklyn, reveals a secret past of activism and heartbreak in an attempt to keep his hot-headed teenaged grandson from making the greatest mistake of his life. In a journey that begins amid the high-wattage glamour of the sets of Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments and leads to the deserts of Cairo and beyond, Ali describes how he landed a dream job as DeMille's personal assistant and then found himself enmeshed in events that changed the course of history. It's a tale that Ali has kept hidden most of his life. But now there's an urgent reason to share it: his beloved American grandson, Alex, has run off to Syria to become a holy warrior. Alex says this journey is his destiny. Ali understands better than Alex believes and knows that rescuing Alex is up to him--because Ali knows how this movie can end. With equal parts suspense, history, and family drama, Picture in the Sand is a mesmerizing story about faith, family, and the enduring power of storytelling.
