The American public returned this, after Iranians took over the American Embassy and American officials were taken hostage. Daily news coverage of the American hostages and the Iranians burning the American flag was broadcast nationally and throughout the world. Subjected to taunts by fellow physicians and lonely for his family in Iran, whom he has not seen for ten years, "Moody", as his wife calls him, persuades Betty Mahmoody to take a two-week vacation in Iran, with their young daughter Mahtob. Once they arrive in Teheran Betty is overwhelmed by the revolutionary displays and by the restrictions on women's apparel and behavior. She is understanding and goes along with all the family demands in order to please them. But the night before they are to return to America Moody informs Betty that he has been fired from the hospital. The next day he tells her that they will remain in Iran and Betty slowly discovers (with confirmation from the Swiss embassy) that she is considered an Iranian citizen, is unable to leave the country without written permission, and that her husband's right to custody of Mahtob is undisputed.
Moody undergoes a sharp personality change, becomes abusive, and threatens to kill his wife if she makes further attempts to leave the country. Mahmoody tries to adjust in order to allay her husband's suspicions and spends two years planning an escape. Her husband's lot is not much better in Iran since the suspicious government will not allow him to serve as a military physician because of his American training and his family constantly harangues him about his over-sophisticated American views and his perceived lack of cultural and religious loyalty. Betty meets a sympathetic merchant entirely by chance and over time, as she slowly works to regain some of her suspicious husband's confidence; her escape is planned by people who work against the current regime. Her escape from the country, with her daughter, is ...