The Fifth Pillar : The Extraordinary Pilgrimage of a Muslim Convert

Having converted to Islam a number of years ago, he makes a spur of the moment decision that the time is now right to fulfil the once-in-a-lifetime duty - and privilege - that all Muslims have: to perform the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca during the holy month; the fifth pillar of Islam.

So Duncan heads down to Leicester Square to buy a ticket to Saudi Arabia, and embarks on a journey that is extraordinary in so many ways, both in terms of the obstacles that confront him as a white Englishman who shows no outward signs of being a Muslim, and the array of characters - both fellow pilgrims and locals - that he encounters along the way. And when he finally gets there, he discovers the true meaning of the old adage 'Be careful of what you wish for'.

For now he has to get back home. Through a labyrinthine bureaucratic process and his own internal conflicts and realizations as to what is truly important to him, he finds the sense of his spiritual awareness to be heightened. Conversely the mundane and practical difficulties he faces become greater and more imposing: Encounters with the notoriously strict Saudi police, escaping house arrest, dealings with army checkpoints and finally the 'privilege' of pleading his case with inscrutable government ministers. By the end, he is running across a runway in the middle of the night and the final scene finds him alone on a jetliner - the sole passenger on an eerily empty flight, leaving Saudi as a million more people arrive.

The Fifth Pillar is a unique account - a story that has never been told of a journey that most of us will never be able to experience.

Beautifully written, atmospheric and immediate yet with the light touch that comes with the benefit of reflection and hindsight - this is more than just another travel book.