BarbaraWood’s1978debutnovelisnowbackinprintinaneweditionfromTurnerPublishing.WhenthefirstoftheMagdaleneScrollsarrives,ProfessorBenMesserispuzzled,intrigued,excited.Whatscholarofancientlanguageswouldn’tbe,whenheheldinhishandssomethingevenmoreastonishingthantheDeadSeaScrolls-ascrolljustdiscoveredtocontainthelifestoryandlastconfessionofamanwhohadlivedinJerusalemjustafterthedeathofChrist.Bythetimethesecondscrollarrives,Ben’sinteresthasbeguntobemorethanprofessional.ForitseemsthatDavid,thewriteroftheancientscrolls,isinmanywaysverymuchlikeBen-andheseemstobespeakingdirectlytoBen,acrossnearly2,000yearsofhistory.Beforelong,theterrifyingtransformationhasbegun,andtherecanbenoturningback.WhatdothewordsofaJewwholived2,000yearsagohavetodowithtoday,andwithBenMesser,amanwhohadforsakenhisJewishidentityyearsago-orthoughthehad.AndwhydoesDavid’slifesuddenlyseemsomuchmorereal-andpowerful-thanBen’sown?WhydoesBensuddenlyshuthimselfofffromthebeautifulwomanheintendstomarryandbecomeinvolvedwithJudyGolden,averydifferentkindofwoman?AndwhatwillhappenifBensurrenderscompletelytothepowerofthescrolls?Beforelong,theterrifyingtransformationhasbegun,andtherecanbenoturningback...
