Cornelius is dying. He gives to his surviving offspring his journal entries, each one for a special family member. As they read who their Patriarch is, all of them experience paradigm shifts both in their worldview as well as in their leader. His nephew, Caleb, is slated to replace him as the Centurion of Caesarea. Cornelius presents him with some of the most shameful acts from his own life, and Caleb wrestles to understand the perverse demands of being a leader within the Roman Empire as well as a follower of Christ. His niece, Eliza, has already been ordained as a rabbi, and she is a powerful public speaker and talented counselor despite being so young. The scroll with her name on it shatters her view of her uncle, and she struggles to sort out why he gave her both good and evil content to read and understand. Now, they must both return to Rome and face the highest leadership within the Empire. Caleb seeks funding to rebuild the harbor in one of the biggest cities in the world, and Eliza must find disciples to call to follow her, or, they face compromising with the emperor, the Senate and the newly forming Christian church and leading lives with negligible impact.