Lost in Chechnya — M.I. Quandour

Julia Downing, an English beauty on assignment in war-torn Chechnya is kidnapped by rebels who hold her for ransom under the threat of death. Wounded in an explosion, she escapes into the wild Caucasus Mountains, where she collapses in exhaustion, only to be rescued and nursed back to health by the least likely Chechen she could imagine. Contrary to everything she had ever read about the people of these mountains, Ruslan, her rescuer is a gentle, literate man, an accomplished violinist, taking refuge in the hills from his own sorrows. He introduces her to the true people of Chechnya, a happy, caring people mischaracterized by the very news media she works for. And unexpectedly for them both, Julia reintroduces Ruslan to love.