Plot: Saudi Arabia's rich and secretive royal family is facing a growing predicament in the aftermath of 9/11, the US-led invasion of Iraq and the recent al-Qaeda bombings across the kingdom. Having fended off the assaults of modernity and democracy for 72 years, the House of Saud is now compelled to walk a perilous tightrope between the introduction of reforms to its citizens, and the continuation of the strict and puritanical religious code