Lois Henderson recreates the story of Miriam, sister of Moses, who played an instrumental role in the Exodus and the journey of the Hebrew people to the Promised Land. Miriam's greatest struggle was within her own heart; her greatest victory was hard-won faith--tested and strengthened in the crucible of the desert and by her own pride and arrogance. Retaining biblical realism yet imaginatively filling in details, Henderson brings alive the epic drama of Moses' return to Egypt through the eyes of the complex pivotal character of Miriam. Skillfully mingling historical happenings, exotic settings, and some of the Bible's most famous figures, Henderson tells the story of Moses' crucial confrontation with Pharaoh, the devastation of the plagues, the terrifying escape thought the Red Sea, and the desert exile that forever shaped the destinies of Miriam, Moses, their brother Aaron, the Israelite people, and the world. He also is the miracle of the manna, the life or death battles with the Amalekites, and the receiving of the Law by a people faltering in their faith. At the heart of this novel is Miriam, who becomes confidante, aide, and comforter to Moses; used her influence with Princess Hapithet to present him at the Egyptian court; assumes a key role in the flight from captivity; is proclaimed a priestess by her disillusioned people; and enters as time of crisis in her soul when she sides with Aaron to usurp Moses' authority. How Miriam's conflicts over her desire to be obedient and faithful without losing her own dignity and self-esteem are resolved forms the dramatic climax of this novel.