This is the remarkable story of a man who, as a boy, attended a secret school with a young Jesus, and then later in life met him again after he had become the teacher we know from history. The novel records his life traveling with Jesus - until his apocryphal death - and becoming a husband, father, and vintner in the turbulent early years of the first century. His struggles to understand the teaching of Jesus in his own life provides the rich philosophical matrix of this unusually thoughtful novel...
Our main protagonist, Jacob, grew up in Alexandria, Egypt. As a young boy he is sent to an esoteric school where he is classmates with Jesus, who, with his family, has fled Judea to escape persecution. Although affected by the teachings there, he returns to Alexandria, and as a young man revels in the exciting life of Alexandria. Even before he is exiled to Judea for sleeping with the daughter of a powerful Roman, he becomes somewhat disillusioned with his purposeless life.
Living in Judea, his minimalist life becomes unendingly boring and his disillusionment settles into him as a permanent state of mind. By chance, he goes to meet a new teacher in Judea, not knowing it is his childhood friend. Following Jesus in his treks through Israel, he meets the Disciples including Mary Magdalene, with whom he forms a lifelong relationship. Jacob slowly finds again his faith in living a conscious life.
Fleeing to Syria with Paul, shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus, Jacob settles down in a remote valley. There, he marries, has children, and learns the art of making wine. He makes several trips with Paul and becomes friends with Timotheus, a confidant of Paul. Timotheus becomes a second teacher to Jacob, showing him the unique interplay of body, mind, and feelings in the nurturing of spirit. He learns to find spirit in the everyday struggles and joys of his life.
After his wife's death he visits Mary Magdalene, now a healer, and they share what they have learned trying to embody and understand Jesus' teachings. His daughter stays to learn from Mary, and Jacob, now old, travels home with his son and grandson. In one of his final revelations, he sees life is in reality all about those moments of grace we receive.
