Meriam Al Khalifa is a Bahraini royal who is not content to be in an arranged marriage, even though her strict
Muslim parents would never allow a union with a non-Muslim. Meriam is allowed to go to the local mall and watch and listen to American
pop culture. One day, Meriam desperately makes some random calls to strangers, including a Marine stationed at the U.S. embassy named Jason Johnson. After meeting, the two become friends and later fall in love, but Meriam doesn't tell anyone because of her parents. After being caught kissing at the
Tree of Life, her mother forbids any more contact between the two. Meriam and Jason exchange letters with the help of a jeweler in the mall, and plan to run away to America with a fake passport for Meriam and pass her off as a fellow Marine. Once in America, Meriam is taken in by the local authorities for being an illegal immigrant and is separated from Jason. Meriam is released after asking for
asylum, saying she'd be disowned or even killed if she returned to Bahrain. Meriam and Jason marry in
Las Vegas, and he is stripped of his insignia and rank to Private in the Marines. The film concludes with Meriam and Jason stationed at a base, looking outside at an American flag, while a Marine holding a copy of the
Quran salutes. It is then that Meriam tells Jason that this is what she believes in. ==Cast==