Disintegration

A compelling tale of neglect, betrayal, new love, and ancient hatreds offering a unique perspective of the disintegration of Lebanon. This is a breath-taking and accomplished story of one young couple's struggle to survive in war-torn Beirut during the birth of the Lebanese civil war.

Dreary and cold, 1970s England labors under power outages and labor disputes, but a newly married English couple are offered the chance of a lifetime; escape to the excitement and challenge of a new life in an exotic location on the shores of the Mediterranean. 

Crowned the Jewel of the Middle East, Beirut throbs with life and myriad contrasts between east and west. They believe they have won lifes lottery. But the country soon descends into sectarian violence, and civil war and the couple are caught up, forced to make choices, as the terror pulls them in different directions. 

When friends are raped, murdered, and estranged by age-old religious divides, they discover the fragility of their own union. 

Occupation forces enter the country they are kidnapped and held hostage in their home. The electricity and water are turned off, they scavenge for food from limited supplies, outside, in a cat and mouse game, a gun truck filled with militants waits, threatening to take them. Days turn to weeks, and, as the country around them disintegrates, the ninety days of deprivation and tension forces them to face one another and learn of their individual betrayals. 

From their windows overlooking the conflict, they watch the bombing and destruction, their painful decline paralleling the country around them.