Book excerpt: The time is the mid-first century AD. The followers of Jesus of Nazareth, called the Apostles, are meeting in Jerusalem to resolve disputes that have already broken out among them. Mary, from the town of Magdal attends the meeting and she proclaims that she alone knows the true teachings of Jesus. The other Apostles scoff at this idea and secretly plot to have her killed if she tries to gather a following. Paul and Luke, two of the Apostles, hire a Roman ex-centaurion turned mercenary named Quintas Cotta to get rid of her quickly. Cotta finds Mary alone in a garden and stabs her cleanly through the heart. As she is dying, she asks for forgiveness for Cotta. Haunted by Mary's words, Cotta decides to track down Paul and avenge her death. The events which follow alter his life forever.