In 1672, the storm clouds of war are once again gathering over Europe. King Louis XIV of France has set his sights on the Netherlands. Austria and Brandenburg have come to the assistance of the Dutch republic, while England and Sweden maneuver for advantage. In the royal palace of Madrid, Queen Anna Maria, the regent of Spain, meets with her councilors to come up with a plan pf action. In the end, they decide to send Don Pedro, Duke of Monteverde and kinsman of the king, on a high-level diplomatic mission to the Netherlands. They do not know that Don Pedro is a secret Jew.After a naval battle, Don Pedro is shipwrecked and cast up on the French shore. Given up for dead, he embarks on an unforeseen journey of discovery. When he finally returns to Spain, he finds his family under a cloud of suspicion, but before they can flee, he feels honor bound to fulfill his duties to the king. Unknown to him, he is being stalked by the evil confessor of the king and his minions in the Holy Office of the Inquisition. By the time he realizes what is happening, a net of entrapment has been woven around him.Danger and an awful sense of foreboding pervade the pages of this book as it moves inexorably through the halls of power in Madrid; the threat of betrayal to the French authorities; incognito travels across France and Germany; the risk of exposure in the synagogue of Mainz; the dank dungeons of the Inquisition in Toledo; the bullfights in Pamplona; and across the length and breadth of sun-drenched Spain. It is a story full of twists within twists peopled with colorful villains and heroes. It is a story of courage, valor and heroism of the highest order.
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