Based on real events, Paradise Regained tells the story of Egyptian Coptic Christians massacred for their faith in a terrorist act secretly sponsored by the Muslim-dominated government.

The story explores Egypt's rich culture and tradition while painting an unforgettable tapestry of the collision between Christianity and Islam. Based on Biblical facts and extensive research.

A Coptic Christian living under Egypt's Muslim majority, Sohag University freshman Magdy Fahamy returns home to Nag Hammadi from college by train for Christmas break. He meets his brother Gergis at the station, who helps unload the baggage of passenger Ahmed El Faumoy.

Gergis recognizes El Faumoy as an ex-con thug employed by powerful politician El Goul. Suspecting the bags contain firearms, Gergis warns Bishop Michael at his church.

Magdy meets his high school crush, Janet Lufty, and proposes. Though hesitant, she accepts the ring even though it could be years before he can afford to marry her.

El Faumoy meets with his associates Ihsan and Humza. The rich Imam El Amir of the Muslim Brotherhood El Goul will pay them to massacre Copts leaving church after Christmas mass. Amid preparations, El Faumoy receives a call from someone with a high-pitched voice who says he's in charge now and calls himself simply Basha ("boss").

To avoid casualties, Bishop Michael ends Christmas mass two hours early. El Faumoy, frustrated to find the church deserted, shoots at random and kills seven including Magdy.

Magdy ascends to Heaven escorted by the angel Jeremiel. Magdy tours the New Jerusalem promised in the Bible, meets with ancestors and biblical figures, and gets answers to lifelong questions such as where Muhammed got the Quran if not from the angel Gabriel.

In the aftermath of the massacre, Nag Hammadi becomes a war zone of sectarian violence between Copts and Muslims. Police arrest eighty Coptic men suspected of rioting, including Gergis. Chief investigator Colonel Muhammed Mahmoud pressures Gergis to sign a settlement dropping the charges against Magdy's killers. Gergis refuses, and Mahmoud has him and the other detainees sent to a secret prison run by sadistic Warden Mustafa Hussein.

During the riots, Janet and her parents flee Muslim thugs and run afoul of Khalid and Hassan, who pose as secret police though they are agents of El Amir sworn to kidnap Coptic girls and force them to convert to Islam. A series of skirmishes and chases leave Khalid dead and Janet a prisoner in the Muslim Brotherhood's secure compound. El Amir demands vengeance for the death of Khalid, his son: Janet's parents must die, and she must join his harem.

Police apprehend El Faumoy and crew. Appearing before Mahmoud, El Faumoy hears his high-pitched voice and believes this is Basha. Mahmoud denies it and insists that the only way the three can avoid the death penalty is to say they acted alone in a crime of passion.

Hassan steals Janet from El Amir and contacts her parents for a hefty ransom to be paid by Bishop Michael's diocese. El Amir's agents find Hassan and turn the ransom drop into a bloodbath, killing Hassan, Janet, and her father.

Warden Mustafa, seeing Gergis' willingness to die for his faith, confesses to Gergis that he is a closet Christian. He arranges for their families to flee to America as religious refugees. There Gergis and Mustafa's daughter Seham are married by a priest Mustafa set free years ago.

The high-profile trial of El Faumoy and crew, prosecuted by Mahmoud himself, attracts international attention. Mahmoud has El Faumoy sentenced to death in a rare moment of justice for Copts living under Muslim domination. His execution looming, El Faumoy, abandoned by the Muslims who hired him for their jihad, realizes he has been worshipping the wrong God.

The events in the news today will have many Americans wondering what is going on with the Coptic community in Egypt. These ancient believers have been under attack for many years, and since the "Arab Spring" things have not gotten better.
This story is based on a true story of the martyrdom of a young Copt. It is fictionalized to make for an interesting story that is rich with allegory. For those who are dying from the anti-Christian violence in the Middle East, it will be encouraging to realize that God has not forgotten them.
The author is a great storyteller, whose voice is evocative of the deep emotions experienced within the Egyptian Christian community. Americans might be surprised by this glimpse of the Egyptian experience. The bonds of family, the heartfelt emotions, and the simplicity of faith are not what Americans typically would expect to read in a novel of this type, but it provides a wonderfully rich taste of a unique culture.
The main value of this book, in my opinion, is to give a broader audience a glimpse into the unique culture and the unique struggles of the Copts in the twenty first century. In that respect, it is a very timely book. For "the rest of us," it will be an important reminder to pray for the persecuted.