As an historical document, the novel illuminates what could be the last missing chapter of WW II's chronology: the epic event of how ALL 50,000 Bulgarian Jews escaped the gas chambers. Was it by mere happenstance or by some miracle? Or was it engineered by a brilliant mastermind who outfoxed and outmaneuvered Hitler and the Nazis? The novel charts the stories of two men, a king and a fanatical militant out to kill him, and the point at which their life trajectories cross-and, ultimately, how each one leaves his own mark on the lives of thousands. Nietzsche's dictum that there are no heroic ages, but solely heroic persons, has never rang truer than in this narrative. That king was Boris III of Bulgaria whose queen was Giovanna, the daughter of Italy's Vittorio Emmanuele, and his cousin George VI of England. With Marshal List's panzers on the Rumanian side of the Danube, Boris reluctantly joins the Axis Pact. While Churchill labels Boris "distrustful and cunning," "a pitiful intriguer," "a man with a slimy reptilian nature," Hitler is particularly flattered to have a king as his ally. But Himmler and Ribbentrop suspect the king of playing a double game. The Jews too have mixed feelings about their king, questioning on which side of the fence he really stands. To the small but well organized Bulgarian communist underground the king is clearly the implacable enemy that represents a tyrannical fascist regime they seek to replace with a Soviet-style "People's Republic." Boris survives three assassination attempts on his life. But in 1943, following a violent encounter with Hitler, Boris suddenly dies a most mysterious death... by slow-acting cobra poison from India. The list of suspects includes not only Hitler and Stalin but, not surprisingly, Churchill. The story of the young militant, Lazar Insarov, on the other hand, is closely intertwined with the story of Rabbi Haim "Rico"Asa of Temple Beth Tikvah, Fullerton, California, who was 11 when those momentous events took place. Wounded and on the lam, Lazar finds refuge in the home of Avram Asa, a prominent Jewish leader and wealthy merchant, and also a decorated WW I war hero for having saved the life of the future King Boris. Rico's ravishingly beautiful cousin, Rebeka, a promising concert pianist, falls madly in love with the wounded Lazar while nursing him back to life. But for the young militant his true love is the struggle against injustice and tyranny. After two failed attempts to assassinate the king, he is captured and sentenced to death. Avram petitions the king, for Rebeka's sake, and Lazar's sentence is commuted to life imprisonment. Rebeka, meanwhile, unaware that Lazar's life has been spared, goes catatonic and drowns herself in a lake-her body is never found. In 1944, following "The Liberation" from fascism, Lazar is appointed Deputy of Internal Security. In the wake of the unprecedented terror that sweeps the country, with the so-called "People's Tribunals" sending thousands to be executed by a firing squad, Lazar emerges as the feared one-eyed henchman, known as "Cyclops." And yet, in a surprising turnaround, following a bloody shootout with assassins, he saves the lives of the remaining members of the royal family. Soon after, with a target on his back, Lazar vanishes, only to reappear 40 years later following the fall of communism, when Rico, now a rabbi, finds him hiding out in a remote mountain grotto. To the rabbi's amazement, the once fanatical ideologue has embraced a set of beliefs which are diametrically opposed to those he previously held-a true enantiodromia Lazar, moreover, with his hands still stained by the blood of many, has put it all in a journal for future generations to never forget the horrors of totalitarianism. The rabbi then delivers to Lazar his own astonishing news: Rebeka is alive -proof, as the rabbi contends, that "love consecrated by God never dies."