The book is largely set in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War, expatiating the fear caused by religious conservatism.[7] The novel entails the childhood of Samir Khoury who ruminates over his Greek nationality and forms the avocation of numismatics of Greek, Hellenistic tetadrachms. In conjunction, the story interweaves the deviltry of the 'Chosen One' named Khaled whose philosophical amorality develops from an unloved child into a terrorist vizier and leader of the 'Watan Arabi', 'Country of Arabs' during 2026. Ultimately, the English girl Maira formulates her theory of the 'Chronon Theory of Time' which carves the avenue to her employment within SETI Institute and the equivocal coincidence of '616', the archaic number of the devil.[8] Jacqueline Jondot, Professor at the University of Toulouse, acclaimed the literature as an exploration of 'les jeux de l'amour et de la mort', 'the joys of love and of death'.[9][10]