Prince of Spring

The Prince of Spring by Mahir Salih – Synopsis “Ali’s thoughts were interrupted by the crack of gunfire, followed by a huge impact that forced the Rolls Royce off the road. There was more gunfire and frantic shouting in French and Arabic, and the wailing of police sirens. He tried to move but found himself wedged tight against something, a searing pain in his chest. The pure scent of the sea breeze had been replaced by the smell of smoke. He felt a warm liquid on his face.” This fast-paced political thriller starts in the summer of 2012, with Prince Ali, the former ruler of a fictional Gulf-Arab nation, touching down in Nice. Shortly after his arrival, he is targeted for assassination. Ali survives, but his beloved son is killed. Ali’s loss just adds to his devastation. Since being ousted in the Arab Spring of 2011, he has been living in Europe, stripped of his dignity and drinking heavily. He is also concerned for his nation, which faces economic crisis and a jihadist terror threat. Ali’s supporters want him to mount a coup, but he rejects the idea. Even so, elements in the new regime, which is led by Prince Yousef and his mother Princess Lolowa, view Ali as a threat and seek his destruction. Meanwhile, foreign powers want privileged access to the principality’s petroleum reserves. China sees Ali as its best chance of securing oil and gas concessions, while the United States aims to force China from the picture. Ali meets a high-class American prostitute named Laura and they fall in love. Laura wants Ali to forget the past and settle down with her. They search for a safe place to live, moving between France, Switzerland, England and Argentina. Ali is denied asylum everywhere he applies, including America. In Buenos Aires, a Chinese government spy finally convinces Ali to retake his throne, although they keep the plan secret from Laura. Meanwhile, hoping to win favour with the US Embassy and prevent Ali from leaving her, Laura agrees to spy on him, passing information to the CIA. Laura is suddenly summoned to the US, where her father has been rushed to hospital. With Laura gone, Ali secretly travels back home, drumming up support among Bedouin tribes. However, concerned about the jihadist dimension, Beijing withdraws its support at the last moment, leaving Ali stranded. In Florida, Laura learns that Ali has disappeared. As she anxiously awaits news of his movements, she receives a fake passport from a mysterious source and flies off in search of her love. Meanwhile, the CIA is gleefully anticipating an escalation of the jihadist threat, as this would provide justification for a US military intervention. Ali is now on the run, and after a dramatic chase through the streets of the capital city, he is captured. He is taken to the palace dungeons, where Laura is also being held. As the jihadists tighten their grip on the capital, Lolowa boasts that she lured Laura into a trap with help from the US government. Lolowa also threatens to torture Laura to death unless Ali makes a video swearing allegiance to Prince Yousef and calling for “national unity”. Ali makes the video, but Laura is able to escape. Lolowa shoots Ali dead but is later killed by her own bodyguard. Weeks later, safe in a Beirut hotel, Laura watches the TV news, which shows Ali’s corpse. He is described as a national hero. The news also shows the US military intervention in the tiny Gulf state, justified as part of the “War on Terror”. A US will be sending a delegation to discuss petroleum concessions, while an agreement with China will now be scrapped. Laura launches a press conference to reveal the US government’s despicable role in the whole affair. She has been warned against such a move, but she says the world needs to know the truth.