1550, Ottoman Empire. The vibrant port city of Salonika is a majority-Jewish haven. Eliora, the rebellious daughter of a famous rabbi, secretly runs the most popular coffeehouse in the city, disguised as a man-a hub for merchants, poets, and kabbalists. When a coded text predicting the arrival of a false messiah (Sabbatai Zevi) surfaces, Eliora uses her network to investigate, becoming entangled in a conspiracy that threatens to shatter the community from within, just as the walls of European ghettos are closing in.
