The tale of a Jewish martyr and his sister who died together in Mexico City in 1596 explores his determination to never lose heart, and to cling to his faith and cultural identity in the face of totalitarian oppression It is 1596 and in Mexico the Inquisition is at its most efficient. A young man trembles in his cell as he prays for salvation, torn between the Christianity he was schooled in and his ancestral faith. What heresies will the Holy Office uncover? Can he protect his mother and sisters?
He is Luis de Carvajal. His forbears had fled the Inquisition in Spain to Portugal and then from there to the New World. But the lives they try to rebuild as conversos in Mexico are just as perilous, for the Inquisition is determined to root out heretics throughout its realms. Luis's quest for true faith unfolds a tense and moving narrative, as he and his family's spirit and ingenuity are tested again and again. This vivid history presents a world without the human rights and tolerance we take for granted today; yet the insights remain all too pertinent--insights into the power of faith, the tangled knot of religious and political interests, and human yearning for identity, belonging, and spirituality.