lance randall

Three groups of extremists chase a powerful symbol of Jewish nationalism across the Atlantic and throughout modern day Israel. Set in 1910, the Zionist movement, resisted by Arabs, driven by Jewish hardliners, and supported by Christian groups, is growing in influence. An aging, world-travelled businessman, an orphaned craftsman, and a beautiful young woman resist the forces struggling over Palestine and find excitement, purpose, and love.

The culmination of a lifetime of work by a South Georgia rabbi and his orphan protégé is stolen from a hidden workshop. Their gold re-creation of the ark and mercy seat is sought by three competing groups: An American-based Messianic Jewish secret society known as the Synagogue Savants, an extremist Zionist organization called the Am Ha-Aron, and an Arabic group named The Brotherhood of the Jihad. As control of the ark changes from group to group, the geo-political, religious, and historical forces are played out in a race to Jerusalem and then an escape to America. Drawn into the intrigue of prophecy and cross-cultural conflict, an unlikely friendship develops between two men, a Christian bond is cemented that transcends conflicting religions for two women, and the deepening love of a man and a woman drives the adventure to a suspenseful conclusion. 

The Synagogue Savant raises questions and exposes possibilities that are issues a hundred years later in a modern day world dominated by religious fanaticism and political terrorism.