..".gripping...mesmerizingly real...." Kirkus Reviews First century CE, Roman Palestine: Yehuda Tauma believes he's found his lucky break when he finds a valuable pearl on the floor of the temple of Jerusalem where he works as a scribe. Convinced that his position at the temple only serves to maintain the network of corruption and greed that he eschews, Yehuda and his bodyguard Ioannis set out for a new life in Damascus...