"Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland's dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena's banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers' Project. There, she meets...

The holy city of Jerusalem has fallen. By the mercy of God, Hadassah, a young Christian girl survives famine, the deaths of her entire family, and unspeakable atrocities. And in Germania, a heroic young chieftain named Atretes battles the Romans with unmatched fury. It is prophesied tha Atretes will drive the Romans from his lands, and someday meet a dark complexioned woman from an exotic land whom he will come to love.