The prologue of THE MESSENGER begins with a funeral in Decatur, Georgia. A man observes from a distant hilltop. He is known throughout terrorist networks as Al Ustadh, The Teacher. Born in Egypt and educated at Oxford, he is as comfortable in London and New York as in Cairo.

 The story begins one month prior to the funeral. Dr. Sami Nasser, a Palestinian born neurologist practicing at Emory University Hospital, is passionately involved in his work and married to a beautiful American woman. The Teacher is his nemesis, a man who craves violence as much as Sami abhors it. As the plot unfolds, the beliefs and experiences of both men reveal a radically divergent interpretation of Islam.

 Three acolytes are dispatched by The Teacher to extract information from Sami—at any cost. The ensuing action takes place in Decatur, Georgia, historic Savannah, and the exclusive enclave of Haig Point on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. A brutal murder triggers a frantic chase up I-95 and culminates in an explosive climax in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.