Set against the superstition and splendor of the 11th century, the engrossing story of Rob J. Cole unfolds. A penniless orphan, Rob was blessed with a gift that, in the days of witchcraft, could send a man to the stake: he had the ability to sense the chill hand of death when it settled on the living. His skill quickened with the potency of knowledge, and he knew he was born to heal and to be a physician. His quest would take him from the rough roads of Britain to the sumptuous and corrupt courts of Persia and the school of the greatest healer of his time. Disguised as a Jew, toiling as a war surgeon in the conflicts of Eastern empires, he would be helped by mighty patrons and threatened by plague and the cruel prejudice of mullahs and clerics. And always, beside the pure flame of learning there burned a fierce passion -- for the fiery-eyed beauty of a woman he could never leave.