Did Jesus of Nazareth have a sister? We will never know- at that time in Jewish history, such a woman did not merit a place in any written record. So Leslie Cannold has imagined her.

The Book of Rachael is the story of a fiercely intelligent child consigned by her sex to a life of ignorance and drudgery. But Rachael fights her destiny, secretly learning the forbidden skills of literacy from her father Yosef and her brother. And when she falls in love with her brother’s closest friend, Judah of Iscariot, it even seems that Rachael will find happiness in her constrained world.

Then a message comes from Rachel’s brother. He is on his way to Jerusalem for Passover. He plans to speak out in the Temple against the corrupt establishment, and he asks for Judah’s help. And so begins the chain of tragic events that will change not just Rachael’s life, but the world - forever.