Publisher's Synopsis
On the Way to Rages. When the young man left home, accompanied by the angel, the dog followed Tobiah out and went along with them.The Book of Tobit, Chapter 6: 1; Catholic Bible, NABRE Based on a book from the Bible, the Book of Tobit, the young adult novel, Tobias and the Angels, is retold in a setting of 1871 southern California. Tobit's eighteen-year-old son Tobias Zepeda, accompanied by his Spanish mastiff, Cherub, and a mysterious Father Raphael, a Franciscan friar, undertake a trip from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles to retrieve the money that will save the Zepeda ranch from foreclosure. Tobias also plans to continue on to San Gabriel to aid his childhood friend, Sarah. Sarah has always been in love with Tobias, but wanting to raise the fastest horses in the state he had refused to move to San Gabriel and become a farmer. Heartbroken she impulsively married a local young man.The young man, shortly after the marriage ceremony, is killed on the way from the mission chapel to the wedding feast. The unknown killer is a sniper who kills any man or boy showing an interest in Sarah. Some of the townspeople believe she's been cursed by God, and she sinks into a life-threatening depression. While riding from Los Angeles to San Gabriel, Tobias, Father Raphael, and Cherub happen upon a twelve-year-old runaway Chinese girl, Chun Loie, who is fleeing the Los Angeles brothel she'd been sold to. They disguise her in a friar's robe to hide her from bounty hunters. Cherub from the initial discovery of Chun Loie becomes her protector. And the young girl becomes the giant dog's loving caretaker. Together, the four continue to the Mission San Gabriel Archangel hoping the mission will provide sanctuary for the girl. There the mysterious Deputy Ash, a CSA veteran, refuses to help bounty hunters wanting to capture the runaway, eventually killing one who assaulted Sarah and seized Chun Loie. At the Mission San Gabriel Archangel, Tobias and the friar, aided by Father Leclecq, Don Corinto and his son, Alfredo, discover the identity of the serial sniper while fending off bounty hunter attempts to kidnap Chun Loie. During this series of events, Tobias aids Sarah in coming out of her depression while learning how much he loves Sarah, how she is much more than just a childhood friend. "The girl is wise, courageous, and very beautiful; and her father is a good man who loves her dearly." He continued: "You have the right to marry her."Book of Tobit, Chapter 6, taken from verses 12 and 13 Together Tobias and Sarah overcome dangers and difficulties and find the ultimate blessing for their love and their destinies. The novel while following the biblical storyline is steeped in the history of California of the period. California's great drought of 1863 and 1864 begins the plot which winds down the southern California coastline from Santa Barbara to San Buenaventura to Point Mugu to Malibu to Los Angles and then to Mission San Gabriel Archangel. Along the way Tobias and Father Raphael (an ordained priest in the Franciscans) meet Tiburcio Vasquez, an outlaw with a controversial legacy. In Los Angeles they learn how the year before, in 1870, the L. A. marshal was killed by his own deputy, Joe Dye, over the reward money for the return of a runaway Chinese slave. Tobias also learns of the notorious Calle de los Negroes, where among the saloons and gambling halls are dens of enslaved Chinese prostitutes. At the end of the novel are sources for the basis and backdrop of the story. Most all of the sources are hyperlinked for easy reference to the source material. The essence of the novel convincingly shows the sanctity of marriage and the vital importance of the Sacrament of Marriage. It is told in all respects from a Christian viewpoint and from an understanding of Catholic theology.
