The Wind and the Lion plot
"Between the wind and the lion is the woman. For her, half the world may go to war."
In 1904, Morocco is the source of conflict between Germany, France and the British Empire, all of whom are trying to gain a sphere of influence in the country. During a robbery by a group of Moroccan robbers, American woman Eden Pedecaris and her children, William and Jennifer, are kidnapped and Sir Joshua Smith, a British friend of hers, is murdered. The leader of the robbers, Mulay Achmed Mohammed el-Raisuli, is demanding an outrageous ransom in order to provoke an international incident, embarrass the Sultan and spark a civil war. Soon, however, he feels something for her and they start dating.