Publisher's Synopsis
A vacation on a Nile Cruise in July 1996 is the beginning of Brita's Egyptian nightmare. On the "Princess Amira" she meets the enigmatic cross-eyed Nubian archaeologist turned tour guide, Abdul. There is a powerful attraction between them and against her better judgment, Brita allows herself to be drawn into his life, a life she will find is filled with mysteries. Brita then attempts to build a new business in the USA with Abdul's employer, the Egyptian tour company Cataract.. Unwittingly, she has now become involved with a criminal organization whose scope and true nature are unknown. Her quest for the truth about Cataract and Abdul's true identity puts her through terrifying experiences. She is date-raped by Abdul and stalked by unknown strangers. The FBI, U.S., and Egyptian government officials to whom she turns for help agree to do so at first, but then shut the door on her. Certain friends stand by her - among them is, an independent video artist named Juan. They travel to Egypt together where Brita hopes to find closure. They spend a week in Luxor, much of it with Abdul. He provides some answers about Cataract, but most shocking for Brita is the realization that she and Abdul have fallen in love. In the following months, they cautiously start planning for a possible future. With Brita's help, Abdul has resumed working on his PHD in Egyptology about the ancient powerful queen Hatshepsut. Brita also makes the big move from the East Coast to Arizona. Then, without warning, Abdul disappears for nearly a month. Only after his return does he tell Brita that he has been in Saudi Arabia on a pilgrimage. She is puzzled because she knows he is not very religious. Shortly after that a strange man and woman start living with Abdul in his apartment and his behavior becomes erratic and often mean. He later explains that the couple was placed there by Cataract. Brita's letters are either stolen or returned with a lot of Arabic scribbles. Stalking starts again at her new home and is evolving into sheer psycho terror. Her e-mail, telephone, and computer appear to be tampered with. As the mysteries mount, Abdul becomes more and more secretive. After eight years of his often bizarre behavior, Brita decides to break off all contact. Abdul pleads to give him "a few more months." Brita makes one last attempt to meet him in Germany but that falls through. She writes him a letter with her address as the sender but it is returned. She writes him a letter from Germany using her aunt's name and address as the sender. That letter he receives. Through her close friend Hans, who lives in Germany and knows Abdul, Brita then decides to resend the previous letters she had sent to Abdul that were returned to her in the U.S. Hans tells Brita that he will call Abdul and speak with him. However, shortly thereafter, Hans informs Brita by e-mail that he does not want anything to do with her or Abdul because he fears for his and his wife's life and ends contact. Abdul then also informs Brita that he is breaking off the relationship with her because he is afraid and does not want to hear from her again. Brita is left with an unsolved mystery hoping that the publication of her story might bring some answers.
