At the trial of Christ, Theophilus, brilliant young assessore raised in the Roman aristocracy, stands behind Pontius Pilate and whispers, ?́?Offer to release Barabbas.?́? The strategy backfires, and Theophilus never forgets the sight of an innocent man unjustly suffering the worst of all possible deaths?́?Roman crucifixion. Three decades later, Theophilus has proven himself in the legal ranks of the Roman Empire. He has survived the insane rule...

"...Against this historical backdrop, Schiavone offers a dramatic reexamination of Pilate and Jesus?s moment of contact, indicating what was likely said between them and identifying lines of dialogue in the Gospels that are arguably fictive. Teasing out subtle but significant contradictions in details, Schiavone shows how certain gestures and utterances have had inestimable consequences over the years. What emerges is a humanizing portrait of Pilate...

Told entirely in song, images, and music, the story focuses on the last week of Christ's life, his betrayal and crucifixion, seen from the point of view of Judas.

Switches back and forth between four separate stories from Babylonian times to the twentieth century to show humanity's inhumanity and intolerance through the ages. The Babylonian story deals with the fall of Babylon in 538 B.C. The Judean story treats the life of Christ. The French story centers on the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day in 1572. The modern story is set in an American mill town and the slum area of an American city.