Mustafa is a widowed Egyptian immigrant and the owner of Habibe's Café, a popular hangout in Los Angeles for those with Middle Eastern backgrounds.

It is one of several personal points of tension that gradually build against the backdrop of larger, national events affecting the Arab-American community and lead to an explosive denouement.

Although she is grateful to her brother for bringing her to America when she was young, and allowing her to pursue an education, conflict arises between them when he insists upon fulfilling his duty of finding her a traditional, arranged-marriage partner from Egypt.

Because of his Middle Eastern looks and accent, however, he is constantly cast in the role of a terrorist in American TV shows that portray only a shallow understanding of Arabs and their culture.

In March 2003, writer-director Hesham Issawi and actor-writer Sayed Badreya, both Egyptian-born and living in Los Angeles, met with actor Tony Shalhoub, then in his second season of Monk.

The concept for the short film, written by Issawi and writer Dick Grunert, was very close to Sayed Badreya's real-life conundrum as an Arab-American actor struggling to find roles in the U.S. – he was always cast as a terrorist.

With Shalhoub providing support as an executive producer with development funds, and Issawi and Badreya writing, the project began to take form.