The Christmas Special is a thought provoking political thriller revolving around a series of Christmas morning terrorist attacks. Beside the death and destruction wrought by these attacks, the selected day of execution could darken the sacred celebration of Christ's birth for years to come. The spellbinding novel weaves together current events with fiction creating a sobering reality of an event whose actual occurrence is certainly probable. David Hearne's new novel exposes a major terrorist attack scheduled for the morning of Christmas. A 16-year-old Muslim girl named Sheeva, who falls in love with a 19-year-old agnostic American boy, becomes a primary figure in the tumultuous story. Her father, Ali Hasson, is an Afghanistan doctor given political asylum in America because of the assistance he provided US forces during the onset of the war. Unknown to most, however, is the fact that Ali is a closet Islamic terrorist leader intent on orchestrating an attack on America more devastating than that of nine eleven. Their targets are 3 nuclear power plants and numerous hospitals. Another dark side of Sheeva's father is his habitual beating of his daughter because of her westernized behavior and relationship with an unbeliever. After succumbing to numerous beatings, Sheeva runs away from home, but during her escape discovers her father is the leader of a major terrorist plot scheduled to occur on Christmas morning. When she and her boyfriend Jason try to alert officials, they are met with the fact that if they admit their relationship, Jason would face being arrested for harboring Sheeva, a runaway, statutory rape, lascivious conduct with a minor and numerous other charges. Conviction of these charges, would label Jason as a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. The Romeo and Juliet couple are faced with the moral dilemma of saving thousands of lives, but having their relationship and lives destroyed by this legal quagmire; or stay quiet about her father's terrorist ambitions, allowing Sheeva and her boyfriend to stay together and avoid him facing charges about their affair which if convicted would have him vilified more by the public than terrorist, murderers or kidnappers. The reader is thrust into this unenviable dilemma this young couple face in trying to choose between helping to save thousands and going to jail or saying nothing and knowing their silence helped bring on the death of many.
