Emoonah's husband is murdered by the tax collectors of the Pharisee, Caiaphas-whipped to death because he had no money to pay an illegal tax. When the Pharisee turns his attention to Emoonah and her young son Elkanah, she runs from the square, begging God to save them. Her prayers are answered when she's helped by Nicodemus, a Pharisee who is kind and pure of heart. He gives her money and directions for secretly leaving the city. Once on the road, she and Elkanah are captured by slavers. In despair, Emoonah wonders where God is. Her faith has shriveled to numbness, but God is still with her. She and the captives are rescued by Jamal, a handsome Magi returning to Persia after having seen the Messiah. But Emoonah's joy turns to ashes when she and Elkanah are reunited. In a nightmare too horrible to imagine, Emoonah learns Elkanah has been molested by their captor and hates her because she didn't protected him. Emoonah and Jamal fall in love, but it's clear when they arrive in Nazareth that her duty lies with the family she never knew she had; her thieving brother-in-law, "Patch," and his conniving son, Jori. Now she must attempt to create a life for her son and her nephew, but how could she know that Elkanah's rage and Jori's penchant for thievery would lead them to the cross on either side of the Messiah and change mankind forever?