Publisher's Synopsis
"Lederman's powerful debut interlaces three stories that span nearly a century and are tied together by a church of outcasts in Las Vegas...Readers of inspirational fiction will love this moving story that affirms the power of God's mercy."
--Publisher's Weekly
A story about the struggle, passion, and adventure of faith, about the Truth that transforms lives...
The Alaska Territory, 1925: Thirteen-year-old Luke couldn't be prouder of his father, whose heroic efforts have just saved thousands of lives. but his world turns upside down when dad abandons his family for a beautiful reporter from New York. Luke's mother, Yura, vows to win back her husband and kill the woman who stole his heart, and she and Luke embark on an epic cross-country quest that will lead them to the Nevada desert, and to truths--and terrors--of which they'd never dreamed.
Reno, Nevada, 1930: Boxer David Gold, a Bible-school dropout who fights as the Pummelin' Preacher, is nearing the end of his career and feeling hopelessly far from God. Then one day, a former call girl who hails from a railway stop called Las Vegas shows up at his door. She's part of a rag-tag congregation whose pastor has been murdered; the killer is still at large, they haven't a cent to pay David, but they need a fighting man to shepherd the tiny Church of the Heart Set Free. Her proposal seems sheer madness--after all, he's not really a preacher, how can he possibly do these people any good? But the Spirit is at work; it's already brought a mother and son from Alaska into his life, and now it's telling him to say yes...
Las Vegas, 2011: Science Cable T.V. big-wig Tim Faber is an arrogant narcissist determined to prove that mankind has no need of God, while his producer, Joan Reed, is trying to regain the faith of her youth. They've come to Vegas to meet with 99-year-old Luke and David Gold's grandson, Daniel, two men who hold the key to a mystery they must solve-and answers that will forever change their lives.
"These separate stories of varied characters come together to form a tapestry of faith, yearning, and wonder at the majesty of the universe. Lederman's prose is polished and often lyrical..."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Bold and forthright writing that would set any heart on fire."
--Christian blogger Miranda A. Uyeh
