If Colleen LaRose's story was pitched as a work of fiction, lengthy passages would be dismissed for being implausibly far-fetched. Yet this fiftysomething from Michigan has been through the mill several times over, and it's a miracle she's around to tell the tale. Having run away from home at 16 after suffering years of incestuous abuse by her father, Richard, LaRose drifted into prostitution before marrying a man twice her age. But it was a chance encounter with a Muslim during a trip to Amsterdam that shaped her future, as she became obsessed with Islam and set up a YouTube account in the name of Jihad Jane to espouse her support for the Mujahideen.
LaRose was not alone in being seduced by the cause, as single mother Jamie Paulin Ramirez also felt compelled to act after Swedish provocateur Lars Vilks drew a cartoon depicting Muhammad as a dog. She had also survived numerous ordeals before travelling to Waterford in Ireland, where her fate became entwined with that of LaRose. Director Ciarán Cassidy introduces us to both women and Jihad Jamie's tweenage son, Christian, who is being raised by his grandmother while Ramirez tries to rebuild her life after LaRose informed on her co-conspirators.
Yet, while the main focus falls on the travails of these homegrown terrorists, this is also an unflinching indictment of America for allowing vulnerable women to be sexually abused and exploited. Cassidy also questions why material that can shape impressionable minds is so readily available on the internet. Moreover, he also challenges the methods and competence of the US security services and the role that the media plays in disseminating government attitudes to the War On Terror. Any of these themes would be worthy of study in isolation. But, taken together, they ensure this becomes compelling viewing.