In the Sultanate of Oman over two hundred hostages are being held at gunpoint. And the world watches helplessly as the madness begins. The spirit of the Mahdi is abroad, intent on complete financial and political domination. Evan Kendrick, a quiet Congressman, is an unlikely hero. But in his past is a violence that he cannot forget. On the other side of the world, five very eccentric, very rich people are meeting. They are the Inheritors of Inver Brass. Their aim - to utterly transform the world. They seek a new saviour, an innocent messiah. Evan Kendrick is to be their unwilling victim . . .