In Jerusalem`s Old City a young priest & a dominatrix converse in the dying light; on Oregon`s windswept coast a fragile woman discovers a body washed up on the beach after a storm; & in Postwar Japan a young protege watches his master`s corpse burn, with bitter thoughts blazing in his mind. Jerusalem Ablaze: Stories of Love & Other Obsessions collects thirteen eclectic works of dark fiction, taking the reader from Los Angeles to the eastern townships of Quebec, & from Tokyo to Jerusalem. Ortega-Medina`s characters are flawed, broken individuals, trying their best to make sense of their lives as they struggle with sexuality, death, obsession, & religion. Sometimes bleak, occasionally violent, & often possessed of a dark humour, this major debut explores the imperfections of life & the unpredictability of death.