In the first volume of a series chronicling the birth of the state of Israel, the lives of a diverse array of characters collide and intertwine as the British prepare to withdraw from Jerusalem in 1948.
It took me a while to get into this book. [a:Bodie Thoene|1085845|Bodie Thoene|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1256574173p2/1085845.jpg] jumped into the action too quickly, introducing too many characters (both familiar and new) at once in several different locations. Then as the book progressed it seemed much more focused on plot than on the heart and thoughts of the characters. However well developed the characters are (and they are surprisingly dimensional and complete characters given how little fot eh story is focused on them) the story is more interesting when it's less interested in the details of the layout of the Jerusalem and how the battles played out.
