The second mini-story within the prologue is about a young Australian couple backpacking around the world. In Pakistan they get caught up in the ideological conflict with the West. Being Jewish adds to their vulnerability. Their kidnapping is traumatic, especially with Sarah's pregnancy. Unexpected help comes from a young local girl whose simple faith challenges stereotypical views.

Extract 4 (Prologue, page 8)
Sarah had nodded off to sleep. Nathan watched her and wondered at her beauty. She was almost four months pregnant and had that glow his mother used to call the ‘glow of motherhood’. The pregnancy wasn’t planned but was welcomed nevertheless.
It had been an hour since they had left the manic bustle of Karachi and the contrasting tranquillity at 35,000 feet was just what they needed. Nathan expected that Islamabad would be just as busy and was glad that Sarah was using the time to rest.
The six months since they left Melbourne seemed like a lifetime ago. They had promised each other that they would travel for a year when they finished university. The experience was more than they had anticipated, largely because they didn’t have much money and had backpacked most of the way. This meant that they got closer to places and people than they would have done as more conventional tourists. They had travelled eastwards through South America, the United States and Europe. Then onto Israel and the Oman before flying to Pakistan. From Islamabad they would continue eastwards to the Himalayan foothills and Nepal.
Nathan let Sarah sleep until they began their descent to Islamabad. It was just as well for the heat and the clamour of the airport was exhausting.

Extract 5 (Prologue, page 10)
The one pointing the gun at Nathan responded in perfect English,
‘You would be wise to keep quiet. We don’t like Zionists here.’
This was what Nathan had feared. He and Sarah were Jews. His grandfather, the only one of six brothers to escape the concentration camps, had left Poland in 1941. Although he no longer practised his faith, in any religious sense, Nathan still felt culturally a Jew and had a strong feeling of kinship with Israel – a nation with many enemies.

Extract 6 (Prologue, page 11)
About two hours later they came to a halt. The sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon as they were led out of the van towards a group of single storey buildings. They seemed to be on the edge of a small township. A group of locals watched them in silence.
Their abductors seemed unconcerned that they were seen. What kind of community is this? Nathan asked himself. Why do they do nothing to help? Why don’t they say something?
They were taken into the front room of what appeared to be someone’s house. There was an old wooden table and several plain chairs. On the table was a jug of water and beside it a bowl of oranges. The room beyond was much smaller. It had only one window, high up, which meant that the room was still in darkness. There was no furniture.
Nathan and Sarah were made to sit back to back on the earth floor and their arms were bound behind them. The door was locked and they were left alone. Sarah began to sob quietly.

Extract 7 (prologue, page 11)
One amongst the group who witnessed the captives being taken from the van was touched by what she saw. Her name was Leila. She was seventeen. She had lived in Kerish all her life. The farthest she had journeyed was to Bantipur, a bigger town about six miles away.
She had never seen foreigners before and was surprised at how much like her the young woman looked. Leila could see that she was pregnant. She could see also that she was frightened. The man with her seemed nice. He had tried to support his woman as she stumbled on the rocky ground. Surely it was not right to take these people like this? What had they done to justify such treatment?

Extract 8 (prologue, page 12)
Leila knew that if she was found out, her own life would be forfeit. But her natural kindness was stronger than her fear. She was motivated by compassion. For this was her understanding of her faith. Allah, her God, the one who loved her without condition, called her to do likewise for others.

Extract 9 (Prologue, page 13)
The clamour roused the inhabitants of Kerish who came out onto the streets to see what was happening.
Men in camouflage uniform were dragging bodies out into the open. Two were helping Nathan and Sarah out of the building that had been their prison for two weeks. They looked bewildered and scared, and much thinner than when they had arrived.
A convoy of vehicles approached at great speed, their lights cutting swathes through the darkness. Out of one land-rover stepped the tall, authoritative figure of General Khan, who immediately began to direct the mopping-up operations.
A young woman approached him. It was Leila.
‘I am so relieved you came. For a while I thought that my message had not got through.’
‘Ah. So you are the young informer. They must pay well in Bantipur.’
Leila was indignant.
‘I did not do it for money. I did it because they are just people like us.’
General Khan looked at the young woman in front of him. Her earnest expression did not mask her pretty features. He admired her courage but despised her idealism. Such generosity of heart was dangerous and subversive.
He said nothing for a moment, then he gestured her to follow him to the rear of the land-rover.
There, out of sight, he held his hand over her mouth and in one swift movement broke her youthful neck.
He let her slump to the ground and re-joined his men. There was no place in his world for people like Leila.