In The Judas Kiss, acclaimed author and poet Valentina Battler delivers a profound philosophical novel that delves into conscience, moral choice, and the depths of the human soul. Structured in the spirit of Dante's Divine Comedy and written in a contemporary voice, this emotionally resonant and intellectually provocative work traces the internal journeys of three individuals, each embodying distinct worldviews. Their lives converge at a moment of acute moral tension where silence reveals truth and choice defines the self. Through piercing introspection and poetic dialogue-both spoken and unspoken-Battler explores the nature of betrayal not as a singular act, but as a layered phenomenon capable of both destruction and transformation. Is betrayal always a rupture of ethics, or can it, in certain cases, contain an element of truth? Can one survive the collapse of moral certainty? At the heart of the narrative lie themes of memory and oblivion, compromise and resistance, beauty and moral law. These opposing principles animate the internal conflicts of the protagonists and shape the novel's meditative architecture. The symbolic Judas kiss in Gethsemane is reimagined not as a simple act of treachery but as a deliberate moral gesture each movement weighted with ethical significance. The novel dares to ask: Can betrayal ever be sacred? A novel for readers drawn to weighty questions and reflective storytelling, The Judas Kiss invites us into a rich exploration of conscience, identity, guilt, and the fragile line between art and ethics. It is a timeless meditation on what it means to be human.