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Ugarit, Syria, 1450 BCE. Eighteen-year-old Leah, the eldest little princess of a prosperous winemaker, is past the traditional era of betrothal. Vowed to wed the prosperous but cruel shipbuilder Jotham, Leah declines his offer of matrimony after discovering that he and his family suffer from "the slipping sickness." Enraged by her refusal and his ruined reputation, he blackmails Leah's daddy, a consequence forgiven only by offering Leah's submit marriage. With no more options for another suitor and no male heir for her family, Leah must look for the treatment for Jotham's sickness or her family will face everlasting spoil. During her mission Leah starts to melt away with desire for Daveed, the attractive home scribe whose culture forbids their union. Daveed has been called by the gods to restore the Brotherhood, an elite fraternity of guardians at the great Catalogue of Ugarit, rumored to contain the secret image of immortality within its ancient archives. If his plan succeeds, it could also save Leah's family from catastrophe. But even Daveed and Leah cannot fathom the magnitude of Jotham's sinister strategies to make Leah his bride once and for all.
