I love books that are based on historical facts with fiction thrown in and this book is no exception. It is set in Japan in the 1600's with Father Joaquim trying to save his village. The Shogun despises Christians but Father Joaquim tries to fight to keep his village in the faith he devoutly believes in. The Shogun send troops to torture and kill all the christians - especially if they are not Japanese. The brutality is cleverly written in the pages of this book for all to understand and is done in a way that almost lets you sit and watch from a corner, if you know what I mean. The descriptions are excellently written and thoroughly believable. With prisoners being painted red, having their head shaven and dragged through the streets of Nagasaki it shows the resilience of people's faith as they are taken to be burned to death. A great read.