During the early days of his screenwriting career, before he was even able to attract an agent, Khoury completed a screenplay that he called "The Last Templar", an "epic" thriller about a search for the lost treasure of the Knights Templar. After 18 months of research and writing, Khoury lent the script to a friend, who immediately suggested that Khoury turn it into a novel. With Khoury's permission, the friend submitted the screenplay to a book agent. Within a few months (in 1996), Khoury was offered a six-figure advance by a major publisher to create a book based on the screenplay, with the stipulation that the book exclude all references to religion. Although at that time Khoury had not sold any of his other writing work, he declined the money and the book deal.