Two women occupy a place in Herod's court. The first, Salome, is the king's only sister, a resentful woman who has been told she is from an inferior race, a people God will never accept or approve. The second, Zara, is a lowly handmaid who serves Salome, but where Salome spies conspiracies and treachery, Zara sees hurting people in need of understanding and compassion. Powerful and powerless, Idumean and Jew-- both women struggle to survive in Herod the Great's tumultuous court, where no one is trustworthy and no one is safe. -- adapted from back cover