Macky arrives in Jerusalem disguised as a member of Portia's entourage, and soon comes across both some old adversaries and several new friends. Awed by the sight of the besieged city, he tells Portia the story of Jesus in the Temple as a boy, and a mysterious Roman soldier tells Macky how King David captured Jerusalem, reminding him that great obstacles may be overcome.

Macky is now a dependable courier between Jerusalem and the outside world. But he's soon given a job that might be too much, even for him: taking an elderly man out of the city for medical care.

The Romans are bringing in an enormous battering ram to use against the walled city of Jerusalem. Macky have to find a way to help out. Waiting to fight it, the zealots liken the Romans to Ahab and Jezebel, who wanted Naboth’s land, had him killed, then took the land for themselves.

Because of his success against the battering ram, Macky is now a little full of himself. Isaac tells him how strongly Paul and Barnabas objected to being treated as gods in Lystra, but the story doesn’t seem to make much of an impression on Macky.

This time, Macky sets out to rescue the real Daniel, but his new plan is no less dangerous than his earlier plan. He’s going disguise himself as a young Roman noble and brazenly go right into the Roman camp.

Stung by his humiliation at Macky’s hands, Toadie convinces General Tiberius to allow him to take hostages from the nearby villages. These hostages will be executed if Macky doesn’t turn himself in. One of the hostages is Macky’s friend Isaac.

Toadie gets very ill (sick, too) and only Macky can get the medicine that will save Toadie’s life. But will he? He decides to do it when Lucius tells him how Elisha helped Naaman, even though Naaman was an enemy soldier.

With the story of the Slaughter of the Innocents running through her mind, Portia hatches a plan that could force her uncle and the Romans to allow Jerusalem’s children to escape the besieged city.

As the people in Jerusalem starve, Macky comes across several sacks of grain that Toadie has stolen for himself and hidden in the Roman camp. With the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand in mind, Macky decides to take the grain into the besieged city. But how?

The Romans are tearing down homes outside Jerusalem and using them for building material. Isaac’s daughter, Rachel, worries what will happen to her when their house is torn down, so, to calm her, Isaac tells her of the kindness Jethro the Midianite showed to Moses, a stranger.

To gain leverage in negotiations, the zealots decide to kidnap General Tiberius. Macky isn’t sure if this is the right thing to do, and recalls the story of Solomon and the baby, envying Solomon’s great wisdom.

After Macky fails in an attempt to escape from the Roman camp, Toadie accuses Portia of being a rebel sympathizer.

As Tiberius launches the final assault on Jerusalem, a still-incarcerated Macky begs Portia to help his zealot friend, Sarah. Portia stages a daring rescue from the city, then learns from Sarah that she was never Portia’s rival; Macky has always been Portia’s.