Like her heroine Rebecca, Esther Erman was a refugee. A naturalized citizen, she early developed a passion for language, which led to her earning a doctorate in language education, writing her dissertation about the Yiddish language, and working with international students on many levels. A multi-published author, Esther now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband. When they’re not traveling—especially to be with family in other parts of the US and in England—she loves to bake, quilt, and add to her monumental book collection.

In medieval England, Jewish women like Rebecca do not wed Christian knights like Ivanhoe. Neither do these women heal the knights of wounds from battles. But Rebecca does both—and nearly pays for this audacity with her life. Rescued by Ivanhoe from being burnt at the stake as a sorceress, she flees from England and the man she has vowed to love always—and lands in Salerno.

Once in Salerno, Rebecca is thrilled to discover a way to fulfill her dreams as a healer—attending the medical school in Salerno, which accepts students from all groups. Defying tradition, and no small amount of family and community pressure to marry and have children, she completes her studies and becomes a physician. Practicing her profession and dodging marriage proposals from Rafael, the man who loves her, she makes a life for herself. But conquest by the Hohenstaufens and the untimely arrival of rogue crusaders threatens to destroy the city’s long-standing atmosphere of tolerance. When a rabbi is falsely accused of murdering a crusader, Rebecca cannot help but get involved. Together, she and Rafael commit to pursuing justice—and saving the Jewish community.