Saul of Tarsus, guilt-ridden over his wife’s death in childbirth, falls victim to the machinations of his mentor, the High Priest, and makes an unconscionable bargain with God: Hunt down and kill the three people Jesus of Nazareth raised from the dead in exchange for absolution.
With an assassin’s aid, he must complete his mission before Jesus’ impending arrest to fulfill the High Priest’s grand plan of eliminating the rabble-rouser and proof of his miracles.
Inspired by John 12:10-11, From the Sword, a completed, 80,000 word novel of suspense set in ancient Palestine, weaves Saul’s story and those of his three intended victims—Nathanael, Hannah, and Lazarus—with the events depicted in the Gospels.
The three are strangers at first and the unlikeliest recipients of the miracle of miracles. Nathanael is a terrorist waging a personal jihad against the Roman occupiers; Hannah is a haughty maiden consumed by a forbidden love for a Gentile slave; and Lazarus, embittered by his parents’ death, is a staunch skeptic of Jesus.
Following their resurrections, they seek out the reasons for their remarkable gifts, which bring them together and allow them to form an unwavering bond. Their quest for personal and spiritual fulfillment leads them to Jerusalem for Passover and, fatefully, into the clutches of Saul and the assassin.