Amanda hurried through the heavily falling snow on the way to her dorm room from the library. She wondered to herself why she had forgotten to wear a warmer coat and shivered against the cold evening air while muttering, "Michigan in the winter, I must be nuts!"

Being a blond blue eyed California girl it was a total surprise to her folks and friends when she chose to attend college 2000 miles from home in what could be described as less than ideal weather. The full ride scholarship to The University of Michigan was just to good to pass up, nowever, and being valedictorian of her senior class in high school with an emphasis on math and science, made her first class engineering material, and being a female didn't hurt either as all the major schools were looking to place women and minorities in their advanced programs usually reserved for males. Although she didn't look it, underneath that stunningly beautiful exterior beat the heart of a true scientist! 

Lost in thought and concentrating on keeping her balance on the slippery sidewalk, Amanda failed to notice the three darkly clad figures that were moving from separate directions towards her. The last thing she remembered was bumping into an oncoming man and excusing herself, while at that very moment one of her other attackers placed as handkerchief doused in chloroform over her mouth and nose, inducing her to lose all consciousness as her assailants quickly carried her to an awaiting van with rental car plates. As the van moved away from campus Amanda was given an injection that would keep her under for at least the next twelve to fifteen hours. One hour later at Detroit's airport, she was placed aboard a private jet that was soon winging it's way to the middle east, and unfortunately for Amanda, she had become the victim of an international kidnapping ring, and the chances of her escape were next to nothing. Worse yet the chances of anyone even finding out where she was, were even slimmer yet. Sleeping fitfully on her way across the ocean, Amanda was about to embark on an adventure that was to be at the same both horrifying and exciting.

As the plane passed into the air space of the small sheikdom of Abdujah, Amanda began to awaken from her drug induced coma. Trying to focus her eyes, she could see nothing but darkness and as she tried to rub her eyes, she realized that her hands were tied and that she had on a blindfold of some kind! As she began to struggle a voice soothingly told her to sit still and be quiet as they would be landing very soon. Landing? Amanda surmised that she was indeed in deep trouble and wanted to scream but knew that it would be useless to do so.