Long after the death of Christ, Mary Magdalene is married to a silk merchant, Leonidas. She lives a quiet and harmonious life until, one day, the apostle Peter comes to the market square to preach and she slips into the crowd to hear what he has to say. She is not impressed, and wants to forget that Jesus chose death, not life with her. But she has reckoned without the apostles who persuade her to write down everything she can remember. Mary starts with her Jewish childhood and the slaughter of her family by the Romans. Running for her life, she is rescued by Leonidas who leaves her in a 'house of pleasure' where she grows into a beautiful woman. Then she meets and falls deeply in love with a young man from Nazareth - and her life changes...Marianne Fredriksson masterfully breathes new life into the figure of Mary Magdalene in this novel of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, seen through the eyes of the woman who loved him most.