Harry Hawkins has it going good; he just turned fifteen, he got his first motorcycle, and his dad just got engaged to the wonderful Sabrina Sorensen. Sabrina’s daughter Meagan may be a handful, but that’s a small quibble overall.
Then his sister Melody falls ill with cancer; the same kind that killed their mother eight years ago. Her boyfriend, the reformed Gadianton Marcos, still hasn’t returned from Nephite times. Facing his sister’s illness, Harry resolves to go into the past to retrieve him so he can be by Melody’s side, and sets off on his bike for Cody. But on the way he finds himself being followed by Meagan, who wants to know what’s going on and threatens to tell their parents if he doesn’t let her come.
Harry reluctantly agrees and the two make their way through Frost Cave, but suddenly things go wrong. The two find a beaten Gidgiddonihah in the caves who claims to be seeking Marcos, who has been captured by the slaver Kumarcaah. Before they can process this, the two are chased by said slaver and find themselves in a never-before-seen room which resembles a living, colorful galaxy. But before they can reach safety the floor gives way, sucking them into an underground river.
The two wake up in a desert, and after drinking from a super-salty lake, Meagan deduces that they’re by the Dead Sea, which means the caves have sent them to ancient Judea. The two soon find some scrolls written in Hebrew that further confirm this, and Meagan takes one hoping to sell it for money in the present.
This ends up setting off a chain of events. That evening, the two find a young Jewish boy named Jesse and his dying grandfather, who brought the scrolls they just found from a war-ravaged Jerusalem; it has been seventy years since Christ’s birth, and the Zealot Rebellion is in progress. The scrolls are copies of the writings of the apostles; most of what we call the New Testament. Before the man dies, he charges Meagan and Harry with taking the scrolls to Pella, where the Christians have gathered for safety. He implores them to take his grandson too. But soon after the kids witness the Sons of the Elect, a cult that seeks to ascend to heaven, burn the scrolls they didn’t take in time.
Regardless, Meagan, Harry, and Jesse travel to Pella, but are accosted by the Sons’ leader on the way - Simon Magus, whose acts of magic are real. He explains that he seeks the Scroll of Matthew, and believes they have it with them, but they don’t; the only copy was left behind in Jerusalem from the start. Eventually he lets them go with a promise to return. The three reach Pella and find the leader Symeon Cleophas, as well as his daughter Mary, named for her father’s cousin, Mary of Nazareth. Having waned in faith, Symeon rejects custody of the one scroll they have, and the trio leave heartbroken. And that night, the Sons of the Elect come while they sleep and kidnap Meagan and Jesse, giving Harry an ultimatum - bring the Book of Matthew to Mount Gerizim in ten days, or they die.
Since the only way to get it will be infiltrating war-zone Jerusalem, Harry despairs, but makes a welcome discovery - the gladiator pit in the closest town is hosting fights with none other than Gidgiddonihah ... and Marcos! The slaver Kumarcaah had apparently captured them after chasing Harry and Meagan and brought them here. Harry successfully incites a riot to free them, and Kumarcaah is killed in the mess. Finally reuniting with Marcos, Harry tells him about Melody’s condition and implores him to return. Gidgiddonihah, meanwhile, learns of Harry’s plight and resolves to accompany him on his quest. The story ends on that note - Jesse and Meagan still captured, but Marcos at last on his way back to Melody. And the adventures continues...
