Who was Mary Magdalene? Saint or sinner? Preacher or penitent? Wife or whore? For two thousand years, this complex biblical figure has been the source of both devotion and debate as to her role in the spread of Christianity and the growth of the Church.

When Mori St. Clair arrived in Paris to assemble a visual history of nursing mothers throughout Western civilization, she envisioned six tranquil months of roaming art galleries and puttering around libraries. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would face danger, forge friendships, or feel a man's love again. Nor did she think that one of the most controversial figures in the Christian church would reach out through the millennia and challenge her to tell the story that contradicted everything she thought she ever knew.