Destitute, grief-stricken, and unwanted by the people of God, Ruth arrives in Israel with nothing to recommend her but Naomi's, love. Her loftiest hope is to provide enough food to save Naomi and herself from starvation. But God has other plans for her life. While everyone considers Ruth an outcast, she is astounded to find one of the most honored men of Judah showing her favor.  Long since a widower and determined to stay that way, Boaz is irresistibly drawn to the foreign woman with the haunted eyes. He tells himself he is only being kind to his Cousin Naomi's chosen daughter when he goes out of his way to protect her from harm, but his heart knows better.   Based on the biblical account of Ruth, In the Field of Grace is the story of a love that ultimately changes the course of Israel's destiny and the future of the whole world.   "I was hooked from the first page. This is an amazing book. The biblical story came alive as the love of Ruth and Boaz unfolded. I devoured the book, reading late into the night." -Debbie Macomber "Tessa Afshar's name has become synonymous with exceptional biblical fiction. Her newest novel, In the Field of Grace (River North), follows the beloved story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz and has already garnered much acclaim, and rightfully so . . . Tessa Afshar is a tour de force in her genre and continues to amaze readers with her gifting of making the old new again." Lydia Mazzei, FamilyFiction.com "Afshar writes unforgettable biblical fiction." Romantic Times Review, 4.5 out of 4.5 stars. In the Field of Grace is a retelling of the story of Ruth, which is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Through the pages of this story we realize that there are no outsiders in the Kingdom of God, no losers, no worthless outcasts. In God's gracious hands, everyone finds enormous value. Shattered lives are restored. The impossible comes to pass. Love resurrected from lifeless dreams happens in the arms of a loving God. Without wealth or family, the widow Ruth left her people and followed Naomi, her beloved Hebrew mother-in-law, to rebuild Naomi’s home in Israel. Provisions gone and starvation at the door, Ruth used all that she had left—a strong back and a willing heart—to gather grain in a field, abandoned after the harvest. Tormented by others, Ruth is shocked to find the owner of the field watching her. Talking to her. Bringing food to her and Naomi. Boaz tells himself his kindness toward Ruth is repayment for the love she has shown to his cousin Naomi. But his heart knows better. Tessa Afshar was voted "New Author of the Year" by the Family Fiction sponsored Reader's Choice Awards 2011 for her novel Pearl in the Sand. Her book, Harvest of Rubies was nominated for the 2013 ECPA Book Award in the fiction category and World Magazine chose  Harvest of Rubies  as one of four notable books of the year. Her novel, Harvest of Gold won the 2014 Christy Award for Historical Fiction. Tessa was born in Iran to a nominally Muslim family, and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. She moved to England where she survived boarding school for girls and fell in love with Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, before moving to the United States permanently. Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life forever. Tessa holds an MDiv from Yale University where she served as cochair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School. In the Field of Grace A Novel By Tessa Afshar, Pam Pugh Moody Publishers Copyright © 2014 Tessa Afshar All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8024-1097-9 CHAPTER 1 FIVE YEARS LATER * * * To whom do you belong? And where are you from? 1 SAMUEL 30:13 Everyone in the city of Kir-hareseth seemed to have descended upon the marketplace, making final purchases before the stalls closed down. Crowds. Why couldn't they just stay home? Ruth tried to ignore the jostle of too many bodies. Dragging a perspiring hand down her worn tunic, she took a deep breath to steady her jangled nerves; the scent of sweat covered thinly by oily perfumes hit her with the force of a blow. Ruth's mother had sent her to buy dates. She eyed the mounds of brown sticky fruit in a stall, trying to calculate how to get the best price so she could avoid one of her mother's blistering set downs. Bending forward, she picked one and examined it with intensity. It looked like a date to Ruth, which exhausted the breadth of her knowledge on the topic. About to open her mouth to ask for the price, she was surprised when a gentle hand caressed her arm. "You can find better," a soft voice whispered in her ear. Startled, Ruth turned to find the source of the advice. The woman was in her middle years, with smooth skin and thick grey hair that peeked from beneath her ivory headdress. Her faded blue tunic appeared clean, the only good thing that could be said for it. The leather of her sandals, visible beneath her ankle-length tunic, showed signs of long wear. Brown e