In this stunning debut novel, journalist Mary Rourke offers a vivid panorama of life in first-century Galilee, with visits to the decadent splendor of Herod's court in Tiberias and Pontius Pilate's opulent governor's palace in Jerusalem. Creating a richly imagined life for Joanna, a follower of Jesus mentioned briefly in the New Testament, Rourke offers a new perspective on the world's most celebrated woman -- Mary, Mother of Jesus.
Wife to Chuza, King Herod's chief steward, Joanna lives a life of luxury in the city of Sepphoris, the jewel of the Galilee. Yet not even the finest doctors can restore health to her lungs, which have ailed her since childhood. But Joanna has heard talk of a local healer, and the rumors intrigue her. She has only once seen this Jesus of Nazareth from a distance, thronged by mobs proclaiming his latest miracle. His mother is Joanna's own cousin Mary, whose family disowned Joanna's for forsaking Jewish law in favor of Roman customs. Intending to ask her estranged cousin to arrange a meeting with her son, Joanna sets off on the dusty road to Nazareth.
Jesus indeed has the power to heal Joanna's body, but it is her soul that blossoms through her friendship with Mary, and as one of his disciples. But as word of Jesus' miracles reaches Herod's court and the ruler becomes increasingly wary of his fame among the people, intrigue, treachery and murder cast shadows onto Joanna's new path, changing her life forever.
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