"AS COMPELLING AS ANY HOLLYWOOD THRILLER..."
- Daniel Rosenthal, British award-winning author and former editor of the VARIETY INTERNATIONAL FILM GUIDE
November 1985 - An EgyptAir airliner is forced to land in Malta, its passengers caught between armed hijackers and clashing superpowers. In the control tower, Malta’s Prime Minister faces impossible choices, decisions that will define his country’s sovereignty, his own legacy and seal the fate of over ninety souls on board.
SOVEREIGN is a gripping dramatisation inspired by the true hijack of Flight MS 648, a moment when politics, ideology, and human survival collided. With the dialogue between the control tower and terrorists drawn from actual court transcripts, it immerses readers in the tension of a nation pushed to its limits.
Perfect for fans of political thrillers, historical dramas, and true-event fiction, this novel shines light on a tragedy the world should not forget.
Within these 150 pages, readers will find:
Excerpt from Author's Note
This book was written with one clear purpose: to preserve the crucial facts of the hijack that risk being forgotten as the decades pass. History cannot afford selective memory. Only by confronting uncomfortable truths can similar tragedies be prevented - for when we turn away from them, history inevitably repeats itself.
It is, of course, easy to judge others after a crisis. Yet once you place yourself in another’s shoes, facing the same emergency, you may discover how easily any of us can falter. Human beings are imperfect; we are all vulnerable to biases, hidden or otherwise, that can distort judgement when they should not. Still, a hard line must always be drawn whenever human lives are at stake.
My years of intensive research into this hijack reveal a blurred line of responsibility that likely contributed to its disastrous outcome.
Although I have taken creative license to dramatise certain scenes in this novel, solely to capture the spirit of the real events, many facts remain untouched and unembellished.
On the island republic of Malta, where I was born, almost anything said or done becomes quickly politicised, for the nation remains deeply divided. I fully expect that some will seek, or even invent, reasons to dispute the facts that underpin this tragic episode.
My hope is that readers approach this novel not only as a gripping story but also as an opportunity to reflect, without bias, on the decisions that shaped this event. The lessons of this tragedy extend far beyond Malta. Across the world, lives remain endangered whenever politics outweighs the simple, universal right to life.
Even now, in 2025, major conflicts rage across three continents, conflicts in which political idealism, sometimes unintentionally, is placed above humanity, condemning the innocent to poverty or death.
About the Author
Malcolm Scerri Ferrante is a film producer and journalistic writer with extensive international credits to acclaimed productions such as The Count of Monte Cristo and Alexander: The Making of a God. He has a passion for true stories and documentaries, earning him a national award for A Gentleman from Malta. Drawing on over three decades of filmmaking experience and a journalist’s eye for detail, he combines cinematic storytelling with meticulous research. SOVEREIGN is the culmination of years of investigation into what truly happened behind the scenes of the 1985 EgyptAir hijacking in Malta.
