In 750 the long-standing rulers of the Muslim empire, the Umayyads, are overthrown. The Abbasid family, who stage the coup, invite them back to the palace as a gesture of peace. But it’s a ruse. The Abbasids slaughter nearly all the Umayyads except Abd al-Rahman, a young prince, who escapes the onslaught and becomes the most hunted man in the Muslim empire.