Prayers for the Assassin

"Prayers for the Assassin" is set 35 years in the future, after a civil war has split the USA into two hostile countries: an Islamic republic and a smaller Christian Bible Belt. This political shift was precipitated by simultaneous, suitcase-nuke detonations in NYC, Washington D.C. and Mecca - a sneak attack blamed on Israel, and known as the Zionist Betrayal. In this new society there are still Super-bowls and Academy Awards, but calls to prayer echo in the streets, the fear of terrorist attacks is pervasive and moral free-fire zones distract a repressed population. As the novel opens, the beautiful young historian Sarah Dougan uncovers evidence that the Zionist Betrayal was not linked to Israel, but was a plot carried out by a Messianic billionaire Muslim, now poised to seize control of the nation. Sarah's research threatens his plans, and soon she and her lover, Rakkim Epps, a disaffected, former Muslim warrior, find themselves hunted by Darwin, a brilliant psychopathic killer trained in the same elite unit as Rakkim. To survive, Rakkim must become Darwin's assassin - a most forbidding challenge.
The chase takes them from the outlaw territories of the Pacific Northwest, where scavengers rule to the anything-goes glitter of Las Vegas - and culminates dramatically as Rakkim and Sarah battle to reveal the truth to the entire world.