I just recently finished a book called:

The Centurion’s Wife

By: Davis Bunn and Janette Oke

Leah is the niece of Pontius Pilate given into servitude

 to Pilate’s wife, Procula.

It is the week after the crucifixion 

of a radial rebel leader, 

Jesus of Nazareth.

 Procula is haunted by nightmares and migraines, 

fearing an innocent man have been put to death. 

  And she is increasingly suspicious that this man 

may have been much more than a man.  

She orders Leah to infiltrate the followers of this rebel

 to learn if the rumors are true,

 that this man, who was dead, 

now lives.

Alban, the centurion, is an ambitious man,

 hoping to obtain Leah’s betrothal to elevate his own status.  

He has never met her, but knowing she is Pilate’s niece, 

his marriage to her would give him rise in stature

 in the eyes of Rome.   

The centurion is favored among the Jews as a God Fearer. 

He has been righteous in many of his deeds

 and respectful of their religion.  

When Alban approached Jesus the Healer

 in hopes to have his beloved servant healed, 

Jesus proclaimed to all that Alban had great faith.

Pilate is troubled by the rumors that the rebel, 

Jesus may somehow still be alive 

and a threat to Rome 

and his own position of power.   

He needs someone to infiltrate the followers of Jesus to find out.  

That is the condition he lays upon Alban

 in order to be allowed to wed Leah.

Leah does not want to be given in marriage.  

She has seen her sisters enslaved and degraded

 in loveless marriages

 and would prefer to stay a maid servant to Procula.  

But she has no power and the decision has been made for her.

Separately, and without knowledge of each other, 

Leah and Alban enter the hidden world 

of the followers of Christ 

and their lives are turned upside down

This is a beautifully told love story

 as well as a story of how Jesus can change your life.