In the first century B.C., a boy, Barukh, sees his wealthy merchant father murdered by a rival trading family in Roman Syria. The child vows revenge, but a family servant flees with him eastward to Babylon, part of Rome's rival empire, Parthia. Years later, Barukh has become a member of a successful Babylonian trading company. When three magi, who have studied the stars, inform the ruler of Babylon that the heavens have foretold the birth of a king of the Jews, the ruler sees a chance to strengthen Parthian influence in Judea and has Barukh escort the magi there.

In Jerusalem, Barukh becomes involved in a major uprising against the successor to Judea's King Herod. At the same time, he seeks his own vengeance against the family that murdered his father. He also must struggle against the suspicions of the kingdom's Roman advisor.

Events rush toward a brutal conclusion as a Roman army crushes the uprising. Barukh must devise a way to neutralize the Roman advisor and at the same time plot the ruin of his father's murderers.