The Jews have returned to Israel after the Babylonian captivity, but now a new threat looms on the horizon. Holofernes, the wicked and conniving general of the Assyrian army, is sent to conquer all the world's temples, and now heads toward the Promised Land. But in Bethulia, the one city that stands between the Assyrians and Jerusalem, is Judith, the only woman with enough faith and courage to defend the Temple with her life in Volume 1 of this two-part manga / graphic novel series. 160 pages.