The Swords of Silence: Book 1: The Swords of Fire Trilogy

In Hizen Province, Father Joaquim Martinez has been quietly tending to the life of his village ¿ but his faith is about to be tested.

When the country"s military dictator ¿ the Shogun ¿ outlaws Martinez"s religion, his and the villagers" lives are thrown into turmoil.

Where once new ideas and beliefs had been accepted ¿ with European Jesuits welcoming more than 100,000 converts into the Catholic faith ¿ now the nation is shutting itself off from outside influences. Those who won"t recant or accept banishment face a sentence of death.

With the threat of a massacre looming, and the Shogun"s Samurai closing in, Father Martinez must decide if he"s willing to risk everything for the villagers he"s come to think of as family.