An Iranian shocked by the violence of the country's theocratic rulers wishes he could go into the past to live the true Islam of Muhammad. He gets his wish and learns that the violence of the future is the result of the violence Muhammad used to impose his religion. He returns to present-day Iran, where he is taken to be the long-awaited Imam of Time, who is prophesied to lead Islam's conquest of the world. Though the ayatollahs believe he is the Imam of Time, his message is not what they expect. He rejects violence and instead preaches a unifying message of peace and religious tolerance that threatens the clerical rulers, who plot his downfall. In the end, he is executed. Though he dies, his message gives birth to something new.