Plunge into the heart of the oil conflicts that pit nation against nation in the Middle East—and threaten to topple a fragile world economy. With the discovery of a secret oil pipeline—once funded by Iran to connect the Mediterranean to the Red Sea through the heart of Isreal—comes Isreal's shocking emergence as the world's newest oil and gas superpower. Meanwhile, ancient fights that have split Islam for hundreds of years threaten to shatter an uneasy peace forged between Isreal, Iran, and the United States—until news of the emergence of the Mahdi threatens to change the balance of power forever in the Middle East.