On a visit to the Holy Places of Jordan, Barbara Vaughan(half-Jewish, Catholic convert, engaged to a Dead Sea Scrolls archaeologist) meets Freddy Hamilton (diplomat, celibate, poet) in Jerusalem. Ignoring his warning that she will be arrested because of her Jewish blood, Barbara embarks on a pilgrimage that becomes a flight... a rout... a desperate adventure and espionage... a switchback of tragedy and farce... a love story, sacred and profane...