In late 2007, a young Canadian student and three friends plunge themselves into the Middle East, seeking and filming stories that explore the conflict-ridden societies of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. They meet with refugees fleeing political persecution, hardened Lebanese militia groups, hunted members of the Syrian opposition, Jewish immigrant soldiers, and Palestinian victims of Israeli torture. Even their misadventures - being interrogated by Hezbollah after crossing invisible lines i the suburbs of Beirut, or being shot at and tear-gassed by Israeli troops - serve only to deepen their understanding of the complex rivalries they encounter, and ultimately, upon their return to Egypt, by a powerful revelation about the nature of Islam.

Kieran Nelson is a Canadian wanderer who spends his time out of school traveling the world, learning its languages, and meeting the human race personally. He graduated with a BA in Philosophy from the University of Victoria in 2006, and an MSc in Global History from the London School of Economics in 2010. He has traveled to over thirty countries and has lived in Quebec, West Africa, Guatemala, Egypt, Belarus, the United Kingdom, and the Canadian Yukon. This is his first book.