MIRIAM’S SECRET

The Plain of Sharon is the central section of Israel’s Mediterranean Coast. For Isaiah, the Plain of Sharon was the ultimate symbol of beauty. It was also the region from which Christianity set sail to the world. Today, the Sharon region boasts beautiful farmland as well as the city of Caesarea, which Miriam visits in THE DEADLIEST HATE. Aboard ship, she encounters Gershon, an acquaintance of her father.

“I hear this is your first trip to Caesarea. What brings you to Herod’s Roman city?”

Angling his body toward me, he spoke in the mellow voice and unhurried speech of an aristocrat. The network of blue veins across his narrow forehead appeared to stitch his cap of luxuriant, silver hair (freshly oiled and styled in the latest Roman fashion) to the matching pair of tufts that shaded his intensely blue eyes.

I looked away to roll up the scroll of Aristophanes and tuck it beside me on the chaise so I wouldn’t have to face him when I stated the reason for my trip, but the fib slid out easily enough. “I’m traveling on business for my father. We’re interested in buying up small farms in the territory around Caesarea, especially those on the northern Plain of Sharon. We want to consolidate the farms and lease them to commercial olive growers.”

A likely story given that the Plain of Sharon has been known for its fertility for thousands of years. But why is Miriam really sailing to Caesarea? Click here for a hint.