It tells the story of the life of a Jewish boy named Yonah Toledano.

The Church has sponsored anti-Jewish sentiment in the populace, culminating in the expulsion by royal edict of the entire Jewish community from their homes of many generations.

He has lost family members to the troubles, both his father, a celebrated Spanish silversmith, and his brother.

On a donkey named Moise, he journeys, remaining a Jew, growing to manhood across Spain to escape his fate.

According to Publishers Weekly, Gordon "illuminates the choices history forces on individuals—and, not incidentally, creates a grand, informative adventure and a completely engaging, unsentimental portrait of a turbulent time.