First century Palestine is a region glued together by hate. The Roman invaders rule, the Jewish authorities collude while the enraged and desperate plot violent revolt.

Pilate lives with his nightmares, Herod makes guilty hay, the balance of power is delicate - and the last thing anyone needs is Yeshua, a man with a mind and heart of his own. He's going to suggest a shocking alternative for his homeland.

And this is his story, told through his eyes; and through those of two different women in his life, Miriam of Magdalene and Mary, his mother - different women with very different dreams.

The result is much more than an historical novel. It is an epic account of the nature of love; of Yeshua as a human being, a carpenter compelled to preach - a man whose intellectual, physical and spiritual strength lead him into conflict with family, friends and authority; and finally, with death itself.

It is not to be doubted a man called Yeshua lived and died. The more interesting question is whether he died and lived. And how he believed and loved along the way.

It is 1st century Palestine and no one needs Yeshua. It is said he arrived there like a sword.