Nicole Nelson and Ahmed Masud are partners in a thriving plastic surgery practice, are very much in love, and adore their young son, Alex. But cracks are beginning to appear in their fairy-tale life: most recently, pressure from Ahmed’s wealthy family in Cairo for him to return to Egypt --- permanently --- with his son. The Masud family pressure becomes a demand as the Hosni Mubarak regime is seriously threatened by protestors in Egypt. Ahmed’s family owes their control of the Egyptian cotton empire directly to Mubarak cronyism. If Mubarak goes down, the Masuds will surely lose their wealth, maybe even their lives. Ahmed must make a decision --- stay with Nicole in America or obey his father. And what about their son?

Laura Nelson works to finalize the imminent approval of her pharmaceutical company’s groundbreaking new drug. But Jake Harter, a malicious FDA employee, is obsessed with Adawia Abdul, who discovered the drug. As soon as the drug is approved, Adawia will reluctantly return to replace her dying father, the lead scientist in Saddam Hussein’s bioweapon program. As Hussein’s henchmen apply brutal pressure to assure Dr. Abdul’s speedy return to Iraq, Harter uses his influence to stall the drug’s approval.