«Thirteenth Disciple» by Philip Platts

Sometimes the greatest gifts are the ones left to us. As a crowd of angry men spill out of a garden, dragging a preacher who has dared to challenge the established order – and the misery it has caused – a young man follows at a distance. But he is spotted by two other men, who run back and grab hold of him. Terrifed, the boy wriggles out of the linen cloth he is wearing and runs naked back into the darkness. Who was that boy and why was he there? The Thirteenth Disciple is the story of fourteen-year-old Daniel, who yearns to make a difference in the world and who unexpectedly comes face-to-face with Jesus of Nazareth. Astonished to be invited to travel the country with him and his disciples, Daniel's starry-eyed vision of the future soon evaporates when he becomes involved in the running battles with the authorities. But he is held together by Jesus's friendship, the wonder of his miracles and his determination to stand up for the ordinary people. And when he becomes aware of the shattering consequences if he stays faithful to his hero, Daniel races through the darkened streets of Jerusalem on the longest of fateful nights, knowing he must decide his own future before it is too late.