‘You idiot, Thaddeus! You want to bring shame on our household, do you? Where is Rebekah? Have you been asleep for the last week? Has the girl run away? Under our law a child who dishonours her father should be put to death. There must be a price to pay and I have already paid you the dowry - which is now null and void. You have humiliated Malachi in front of his friends; our family is now a victim of your stupidity. What have you got to say for yourself?’

In first-century Palestine, Rebekah is betrothed to a cruel man she doesn’t want to marry - so she runs away. Found by a kind man and his grandson, Jacob, she becomes their servant. Will there be a happy ending for Rebekah - and for Jacob? Without doubt it is not a happy beginning and unexpected twists and turns lie ahead!

As the story unfolds the words of the prophet from Galilee affect Rebekah… and many around her but they also rile the religious authorities who want to maintain the status quo at any cost. What does it take for kindness and mercy to show itself in the middle of a power seeking world?

An unusual romance, set against the very realistic backdrop of the time of Jesus, this is an eye-opening story of the times.