Zillah is an orphan in ancient Persia living in a caravan serai-a safe haven for desert travelers. Other children taunt her because of a birth-mark on her face and strangers think it is the sign of a curse. Her future is grim until a royal caravan comes to the serai following a wondrous star. Zillah has seen that star though it is invisible to those around her. Through a series of amazing events Zillah embarks on an adventure full of danger trying to protect her most precious secret.

Lois West Duffy is a writer living in Afton, Minnesota. A former journalist who worked for a small daily newspaper and The Associated Press, she served as press secretary to a U.S. Senator, became an executive with a Fortune 500 company and now devotes her working hours to writing. She is at work on her second novel set in biblical history in addition to writing poetry and essays - some of which have appeared in Talking Stick, a Minnesota literary journal and in a forthcoming book Women of a Certain Age.