New York: Ace Books, (2004) dj. Hardcover first edition - Winner of the 2005 Endeavour Award for excellence in science fiction. A science fiction novel, "set on 23rd-century Earth and the oceanic world Virimund, [which] swiftly evolves into a meditation intertwining spiritual values, godhood itself and romantic love. Marley's feminist springboard is her acceptance of Mary of Magdala, long considered a reformed prostitute, as Christ's first disciple. The Magdalenes, a celibate Roman Catholic order of women priests known as Enquirers, travel the galaxy as anthropological investigators, 'to shed light into dark places'." (Publisher's Weekly) 324 pp. ISBN: 0-441011365.