In 1919, Sherlock Holmes and his future wife Mary Russell are smuggled into Palestine under cover of darkness. Disguised as Arabs they foil a Turkish plot to regain control of Jerusalem from the British.

Great Britain ruled Palestine from 1917 to 1948. The British presence replaced 500 years of Turkish control and led to the State of Israel, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998. The British brought Palestine into the twentieth century. When they arrived the country lay in a Levantine nirvana; by the time they left it had become the arena for one of the century's major international conflicts. Among the personalities who shape this narrative...

Draws on newly available documents from the National Archives in Britain to chronicle the historical events and key campaigns that led to the creation of Israel.