A House in the Land of Shinar

In ancient Saudi Arabia, the beloved daughter of a Bedouin Arab named Tiras is sacrificed to his tribe's imaginary bull-god. Devastated, Tiras grows determined to find a kinder god and save his two sons.

Accompanied by his donkey, Tiras sets out for the sophisticated non-Arab land of Sumer, crossing the dangerous Nefud Desert. In Sumer he hopes to discover a faith that will bring happiness and prosperity to himself and his family. After numerous adventures, he returns home with a new religion-the roots of Judaism. But Tiras struggles to persuade his suspicious tribe to accept the new god. What's more, he must face the consequences of his affair with a Sumerian woman whom he'd abandoned. Only time will tell whether he can help his people find meaning in their lives and establish themselves in their own land.

Set in 3500 BC, this historical novel dramatizes the possible origins of several stories from the Old Testament, based on archaeological evidence mostly unknown to the public.