Abducted to Kill Synopsis
Born in the United States to an Iranian father and Jewish Christian mother, Joseph knew little about his father’s homeland until, as a young teen, his father announces a move to Iran. Joseph rebels and refuses to go. His father beats him and gives him no choice.
Joseph must now live in an unusual environment and his father seems to be changing to fit the extremist ideology of this country. Still, he makes new friends and meets Azita, a young woman with whom he falls madly in love. Joseph learns quickly to keep his citizenship, and his faith, to himself to avoid imprisonment, torture, or even death. New country, a new language, and new rules. Azita teaches him to speak Farsi, the language of his new homeland and Joseph has no distinct accent so he fits right in, but this gift later proves to be both a blessing and a curse for him. His father arranges an apprenticeship as manager of a restaurant. Joseph isn’t working long before the tide changes—the government has changed radically and an Islamic Imam is controlling the regime.
This new regime takes over the country and people begin to disappear. Some reports say the women are tortured, and murdered, and the young men are abducted. But, why? Joseph soon learns the answer when he and a friend are thrown into the back of a car and forced to become “volunteers” in the early formation of the Hezbollah, the very militia that has been abducting the young men and even some boys.
While training for service in the army Joseph witnesses horrific acts against the enemy. But who is this enemy? Men, women, and young children are chosen to be martyrs. The only thing that keeps Joseph motivated is his secret faith in God, and his love for Azita, who came to Christ because of him. As a Muslim turned Christian, she is now doomed to die if that information is discovered. Joseph is determined to protect her and his family any way he can. He tries to play along with the army rules until he has a window of opportunity where he is given time off. That's when he escapes.
While he is in hiding at an underground camp for fugitives waiting to leave for the US, a message he receives tells him that Azita has been killed. Hearing of his love’s death, Joseph now refuses to go, but those who are helping him insist. He reluctantly moves forward because of a promise he has made to Azita.
Finally, he obtains passage home through a smelly old fishing boat off the coast of Bushehr. Enemies of Iran continuously bomb a nuclear facility being built there, and the bombing is his perfect cover.
Once outside Iran he encounters a new barrier to his objectives—in Italy the U.S. CIA takes him captive and questions him before delivering him to the U.S. Embassy. Will he ever really be free? After more questioning at the Embassy, Joseph is given a passport back to the country of his birth. That’s when he discovers that Azita is still alive.
His new life begins with the joy of knowing they are both safe but the stigma of being a former abductee of the Hezbollah army remains.
