LION OF BABYLON BY DAVIS BUNN

 LION OF BABYLON BY DAVIS BUNN is very interesting, and a "must read" for those who are interested in Iraq and Iran and the plight of Christians in the Middle East.  It is a story of trust between different nationalities and beliefs, and of Christian love and compassion between believers of different backgrounds and traditions.  
Marc Royce is asked by Ambassador Walton to go into Iraq to look for Alex Baird, who has gone missing with two other Americans and an Iraqi pastor.  It is believed they have been kidnapped.  Alex Baird is his best friend, who helped him go on living when his wife had a stroke and died months later.  It is a dangerous mission but Marc is determined to get Alex out alive.  When he gets to Iran he finds that there are also children missing, and he and Sameh, a Christian lawyer who is most concerned about the missing children, and has been asked by Hassan to find his kidnapped son, build up a special relationship of trust.  Sameh welcomes Marc into his family, and his wife, niece, and her daughter, become very fond of Marc as well.  Sameh is a courteous man who loves his country and wants to make a difference.  He dreams of an Iraq where those of different Muslim sects work together with the Christians to make a better Iran.  He is amazed at this American, Marc, who has such compassion for  foreign children who he does not even know! 
Both the U.S. and Iraqi governments are afraid that if the Christian element gets involved in trying to solve the kidnapping of Alex Baird and his companions - all Christians - they will complicate an already explosive situation in the Middle East.  The moderate Muslims want to walk hand in hand with the Americans in order to make a better Iraq.  The Iranian leaders, on the other hand, are trying to cause discord amongst the Iraqis in order to be able to control a weak Iraqi government.  It is an exciting and well written story with a lot of Scriptural truth.