Drawing upon ancient and medieval Jewish legends about the perils of trying to force the dawn of the Messianic Age, The Last Confession of Joseph della Reina tells the story of a dreamy, idealistic young Jewish man in medieval Spain who becomes convinced that, as recounted in the Talmud, the Messiah lies waiting among the beggars at the gates of Rome. Horrified by the world's suffering, Joseph decides to launch a quest to Italy to confront the Messiah in person and to force him to commence the redemption of the world, so that there will be no more death and disease. But when he finally meets the Messiah, he learns that there is a terrible price to be paid to try to force the end of history and the redemption of humanity and he must decide how far the means can justify the ends.