Daniel of Galilee joins the powerful Rosh in the mountains and participates in the underground vowed to bend the bronze bow of Rome. Sent to Copernaum to dispatch information, Daniel by chance observes the healing power of Jesus and is profoundly fascinated. Though his friend Joel refuses to participate in violence, Daniel's hatred is steeled by the constant reminder of his parents' crucifixion and the deadening effect it had on his younger sister Leah who sits in silence day after day. As Rosh's methods become more cruel, he is renounced by the brave mountain band and Daniel appeals to Jesus to fill the now empty leadership role. How puzzled he is when the great prophet preaches love as the best antidote to the bronze bow of Rome, and how miraculous when he finds his own heart thawing in a crisis. Leah's impending death is Daniel's redemption for he allows the young Roman soldier with whom Leah has fallen deeply in love, to enter his lodgings, and with it a measure of Jesus' teachings to enter his soul. The author succeeds admirably in re-entering the era and filling it with entirely human characters. Intentionally Jesus remains a shadowy figure, for it is his effect on Daniel that is essential to the boy's development. Alive and colorful biblical fare in the well modulated manner of Elizabeth Speare.
