This novel is a modern retelling of Columbus's voyages. The year is 1492, and the place is Spain. The Inquisition against the , i.e. converted Jews, is in full force, and Isabella and Fernandez have signed an Act of Expulsion of Jews. On the day the Act of Expulsion goes into effect, Columbus leaves Spain for the Indies to meet the fabled Khan described by Marco Polo in his , raising questions about his Jewish origin. The de Avila family, three generations of persecuted by the Inquisition, take part in Columbus