{"product_id":"the-desert-contract-john-lathrop-9781416567943","title":"The Desert Contract","description":"\u003cb\u003eWritten with compassion and a true understanding of the current politics and business world of the Middle East, \u003ci\u003eThe Desert Contract\u003c\/i\u003e paints a dead-on portrait of Saudi Arabia's near future and, at the same time, deftly examines what happens when passion, commitment, and loyalties collide.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eLate at night on the eleventh-floor balcony of a deserted building on the Persian Gulf, American businessman Steve Kemp finds himself falling back in love with Helen--the Irishwoman he'd left more than a decade before--as bombs explode below.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eKemp returned to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia as a last attempt to find success. Fired from his job in L.A. and divorced from his wife, he hoped to salvage his finances in a peaceful part of the Middle East. But he arrived to find a country on the verge of a political meltdown, where an explosive mix of resentment, revolt, and jihadists threatened the regime. And he found his old flame Helen, who was now married to a diplomat at the end of his career. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe overextended military props up the crumbling monarchy, buying a little time--time Kemp and Helen use to rekindle their affair. As the country plunges into violent political crisis, Kemp focuses on financing his escape with Helen. All he needs is one last big sale--their contract out. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe country enters its final descent when Kemp's sale at last appears. The deal will be complete once Kemp visits a correspondent bank. It is standard procedure. But suddenly the picture darkens. The bank is on the wrong side of an obscure island. Helen, and even her husband, may have had a hand in the sale. And the terms may be more ambiguous--and more dangerous--than Kemp had thought.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John Lathrop\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1416567941\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781416567943\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Scribner Book Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/21\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.80d","brand":"John Lathrop","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48518362431743,"sku":"9781416567943","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_8dfd40fb-8ab4-4407-8462-09cc108d263e.jpg?v=1778734289","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-desert-contract-john-lathrop-9781416567943","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}