This compelling story follows a group of young men and women from Peace Corps training in the U.S. to their assignment in Afghanistan, where they must learn to adapt to exotic food, mysterious customs, and primitive hygiene. In the midst of their assimilation into Afghan society, a military coup leads to the arrest of the author, who is accused of being an American spy. After brutal interrogation for secrets he does not possess, the author is extricated from prison, as a new communist regime takes power over the country. Thus the chain of events leading to 9/11 is set in motion.