In an ancient city carved from stone, one desperate young woman searches for peace—in the calm before the Romans attack.
In AD 106, a single mother can be certain of one thing—destitution. So Cassia and her six-year-old son flee to Petra, seeking refuge in the loving arms of family.
But the great stone city is not what Cassia imagined. And family cannot be trusted. When a secret reveals her son's true bloodline, the boy becomes the target of a royal conspiracy. He's snatched from Cassia's grasp.
In her darkest hours, Cassia finds herself surrounded by followers of the Way, a subversive new religious group whose disciples are frequently sentenced to arenas with starved lions and blood-soaked sand. Why would they seek out more danger by helping her? And what kind of religion gives freely and asks for nothing in return?
Roman soldiers soon surround Petra, immersing the city in panic and further endangering Cassia's son. She...
