Plot
American salesman Alan Clay is sent to sell a holographic teleconferencing system to the Saudi government by overseeing a presentation for the King of Saudi Arabia. Clay was offered the job solely because he once met a nephew of the King. Clay is haunted by a previous job at the Schwinn Bicycle Company, where he oversaw the outsourcing of their production to China, which led to hundreds of layoffs in the US. He is also depressed by a messy and costly divorce, which leaves him unable to afford to send his daughter to college.
Oversleeping on his first day in Jeddah, due to jet lag, he misses the shuttle bus to the King's Metropolis of Economy and Trade, a largely unfinished planned city in the desert, where Clay is scheduled to give his sales presentation. He hires a driver, Yousef, who describes being in love with a woman whose wealthy and jealous husband has led Yousef to fear for his life. After arriving, Clay is informed that neither the King nor his direct contact, Karim Al-Ahmed, are there. Clay's team is placed in a tent outside the office building, which lacks food and workable internet access.
Clay repeatedly oversleeps and calls Yousef repeatedly to drive him to the development. They become closer during the long drives. At the development, he is repeatedly put off and confined to the tent. One day, he slips inside the building and meets Danish executive Hanne. She is sympathetic to his plight, but cannot help him get contact the King or Karim Al-Ahmed. She offers him alcohol disguised as olive oil, which Clay has missed since arriving in Saudi Arabia.
That night, Clay gets drunk and tries to cut open a lump on his back. Waking the next day, covered with blood from the cut, he goes to a hospital, where he develops an immediate connection with Zahra, the doctor treating him. She performs a biopsy and asks him to return in a few days. After more days without progress, Clay is invited by Hanne to a party at the Danish consulate, where she unsuccessfully tries to seduce him. The next day, after the tent's air conditioning breaks, Clay becomes upset. He again slips into the office building and finally meets Karim Al-Ahmed. Karim assures Clay he will take care of the team's problems but cannot give him a date for the presentation. He shows Clay a new, totally empty condominium development.
Back in Jeddah, Clay has a panic attack at his hotel. Mistaking it for a stroke, he calls Zahra and Yousef. Yousef, arriving shortly after Zahra, notices how close they are and after she leaves, chastises Alan for endangering her by making advances, which Clay vehemently denies. Yousef confesses the jealous husband has threatened him and flees to his home town in the mountains for the weekend to let things cool down. Clay accompanies him, passing through Mecca, a city prohibited to non-Muslims.
After returning, Clay learns his lump contains precancerous cells and should be removed the next day. When returning to the development, Clay notices the technical problems have been resolved, and successfully gives the King his presentation. However, soon after, Clay learns the Saudis have made a deal with a Chinese company, which can offer a similar product at a cheaper rate.
The next day, the operation begins with an unknown male doctor, but at the last moment, Zahra takes over, to Clay's delight. After the procedure, Clay and Zahra exchange increasingly personal and intimate emails, which culminate in a secret meeting. They talk about their families, and Zahra explains she has children and is going through a messy divorce. They are driven to Zahra's beach house, where they go swimming and have sex. Clay writes to his daughter, telling her the deal was unsuccessful but that he has taken a well-paid job selling condominiums in the unfinished city, which will allow him to pay for college for her, and has found a new positive force in his life with Zahra.
