Ezekiel Nieto Benzion's grandfather gave him his most precious possession: twenty dusty old books. "These are the journals written by Judah Halevi two hundred years ago and kept safe by our family in the old country because they wanted their descendants to know their names and their stories. I beg you to make sure their tales are told."
The journals, alas, were written in codes and oblique references because Judah Halevi was torn between two goals: he wanted to be sure his descendants understood why he and his colleagues did what they did but he also wanted to protect their identities. So Benzion was left to piece together clues and to write fictionalized accounts based on what his research uncovered. Out of this research has emerged a series called The Judah Halevi Journals. Five novels and one novella have been published so far.
In Vienna of the early 19th century, two secret societies, one of gay men, the other of Jewish fighters, warily decide to work together against the forces that oppress them both.
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