The Coin

A Multigenerational Novel of a Jewish Family Escaping the Shtetls of Eastern Europe

In the 11th century, Jewish residents of a European town choose suicide over being massacred by rampaging Crusader knights. Only one boy survives, and he holds a coin, "The Hand of God," which gets passed from father to son through succeeding generations.

Jack Perle, a street-wise youth deserted by his parents, makes his way from a shtetl in Eastern Europe to the docks of Philadelphia where he leads a criminal enterprise and plots to collect an unforgivable debt from his estranged father and family. His actions cause his life to change in ways he could never imagine