It is late in the 4th century AD and Zachary, a young Greek from Alexandria, has decided to become a hermit. Spurned in love, he ventures to the fringe of the desert to join a colony of Christians. At the colony, Zachary learns from a fascinating mix of individuals who help him take his first steps on the road to spiritual perfection. But an untimely return to Alexandria to join in an attack on a pagan temple pulls him off course, and he falls victim to anger, drunkenness and lechery. Agonized with remorse for his sins, Zachary sets out alone into the deepest desert to wager his very life against his hope of salvation. Volumes 2 and 3 of The Commandment Trilogy are forthcoming.