As a recovering alcoholic and "born again" Christian, Martha Browning, a middle-aged, middle class housewife from Indiana, wanted to visit Israel and the "Holy Lands" to strengthen her faith. She found however that her fascination with the cultural complexity and physical enchantment of the region soon overwhelmed her rather mundane curiosity related to the various religious sites and biblical stories. After befriending an Arab-Israeli doctor Martha was able to explore many intriguing aspects of Israel and the Middle East more thoroughly. What she saw and learned was beyond anything she could have imagined, and it forced her to examine her life's direction with a new passion and understanding. Just as she contemplated how to adjust her life, and how to manage the growing romantic feelings towards the doctor, she was kidnapped. Dealing with the terror of becoming a kidnap victim forced Martha to scrutinize her life, her faith, and her internal strengths and frailties with an urgency imposed by a frightening aloneness.