The Moment Before

A woman and her beloved Syrian father, separated forty years earlier when he is swept up in a geopolitical odyssey from hell, are almost reunited by a lawyer struggling to save his Illinois hometown from financial ruin. Tricked by a Syrian priest working for the FBI, and betrayed by his wife, Elias Haddad leaves his daughter Cheryl Halia for what he believes is a short trip home to Syria to visit his dying father. Largely ignorant of Middle East politics, Elias is detained upon arrival in Damascus and conscripted into Assad's army, beginning a forty-year geopolitical odyssey from hell which culminates in his captivity in Guantanamo during America's post 9/11 War on Terror. In her search for her father, Cheryl meets John Veranda, an idealistic small-town lawyer who sacrifices his family's land, his marriage, and his aspirations for his town to help reunite Cheryl with her father. Ultimately, the enduring love between a father and a daughter prevails while John and Cheryl's relationship moves towards a romance neither of them fully comprehends.