The Regime by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim Lahaye (2005, Hardcover)

Prequel to Left Behind Series. Nicolae rises to power and develops his captivating public persona. Fortunato enters his life and tutors him on "showing" humility. We discover just how far both will go to “succeed”. Nicolae shows no emotion when an aide is killed. He enters into shady business deals and does anything, even murder, to "win". Irene grows in the Lord and is having trouble converting her husband, Raymond and daughter. Chloe rebels against going to church and makes a deal with her mother to not attend. Both her and her young son Raymie struggle to share the Lord with their father (husband) and sister (daughter). Irene becomes convinced she can win her husband and daughter to the Lord by changing her behavior. This is a biblical concept when yoked to an unbeliever. Raymond pursues his carrier and avoids his wife. Irene wants to move her church to a Bible believing one, New Hope but Rafe objects. Meanwhile Raymond meets a person who will have a big influence on his life, Abdullah. With him he takes up black market goods to supplement his income. Abdullah's wife tells him about a lady she meets in the market place and is converting to Christianity. Abdullah blames himself, as he had not been devout in his prayers and attending the mosque. A brilliant young journalism student, Cameron, gets the chance of a lifetime and quickly moves to his goal to work at the Global Weekly. His mother has cancer and is dying and he uses any means possible to try to get to her before she dies. We learn where he got his nickname “Buck” by bucking the system to jockey into the best stories. The book ends with the attack of Israel by Russia and her allies. I really enjoyed getting to know the development of the Left Behind series people. I strongly recommend this book to people who like "life experiences" novels and drama.