Serpent

"Jason is a scriptwriter working on a film about Masada--the fortress where a thousand Jews killed themselves rather than be taken by the Romans in A.D. 73. Jason doubts that a film both honest and popular on such a subject can be made. The story of Serpent takes place on the airplane taking a party of VIP film people to Israel--the producer, two stars, production assistants, and Jason--with Jason's wife and child in tourist class. The dispute about the film--concerning the nature of loyalty, of sacrifice for the good of society--runs parallel with an actual drama that unfolds on the plane: between Jason, his wife Lilia, a man she befriends (who may or may not be a hijacker), and the show-business people in first class. A climax is reached in which the conflicts on the plane, Jason's fanciful ideas for a script on Masada, memories of his past life, and a contemporary crisis in Israel all seem to run parallel and even nudge one another--at least in imagination. The plane comes down to earth ..."--Jacket.