A signet ring bearing the image of Napoleon the First is given as a gift to Tomer Aharonovich – a powerful Israeli tycoon who stands at the center of a legal and financial web threatening to topple the empire he built. Tomer, a charismatic yet mentally wounded narcissist, identifies in the ring a personal symbol of power and control, and perhaps also a tool to prevail in the political and legal game against him.
Meanwhile, Efi Levi – a religious, lonely, and rebellious youth – flees his home and accidentally stumbles into Tomer’s opulent world. Tomer decides to adopt him, not merely as a wealthy man’s charity toward the poor, but as a tool in an image campaign: to transform Efi into a symbol of redemption, compassion, and modern Napoleonic nobility.
The book moves between present-day Jerusalem – where the gap between the world of Torah and the business world cries out to the heavens – and 19th-century Paris, where Napoleon himself weaves plans to create a legacy that will survive generations. Between the lines emerges a meaningful question: Do we have the power to choose who we become, or are we all bound by invisible chains of tradition, power, and desire?
“The Napoleon Code is a dramatic-social novel set in Israel of the last decade, against the backdrop of the world of capital-power, media manipulation, and the temptation of turning a person into a living legend.
At the heart of the story stands Tomer Aharonovich – a charismatic Israeli tycoon, sophisticated, wealthy almost without limits. Tomer runs global businesses, but in recent years has been dealing with investigations, criminal suspicions, and heavy public pressure.
To change his image in the media – and transform from “corrupt tycoon” to “national leader” – a group of advisors, lobbyists, and media people around him propose a bold move: to establish a new political party under his leadership, which will market him to the public as one destined for greatness.
And to wrap the entire move – they specially commission a luxurious signet ring, designed in imperial style, bearing Napoleon’s portrait. Not an antique ring from the days of the real emperor, but a gift created in the branding era: a brilliant marketing symbol item designed to evoke feelings of power, belonging to a leadership tradition, and strength.
Behind the idea stands an old rival, who wants to control Tomer’s assets, but Tomer knows nothing about this.
2. Tomer – Between Past, Present and the Dream of Becoming a Legend
Tomer is not an innocent man. He immediately recognizes the tremendous potential of the idea: a signet ring transforms him into a kind of “Napoleon’s successor” – no longer a hated tycoon, but a larger-than-life figure, with a story, seal, and clear identity.
Beyond everything, Tomer is drawn to the idea not just for business reasons: he has a genuine desire to leave a mark. He knows that Napoleon will be remembered forever – not Tomer Aharonovich, the subject of investigations.
At the same time, Tomer is surrounded by people, some of whom are truly loyal to him, and some loyal only to money:
Charlie, his close assistant, who admires him but also doesn’t shy away from dark techniques. (Wait for continuation, you can’t know, maybe he’s actually a friend?)
Hannah, his wife, who is his quiet conscience and the human voice in the house.
His son Puki, who is growing up in a world where money doesn’t let you make your real choices.
3. Efi Levi – The Boy Who Got Swept into the Story
Into this mess enters Efi Levi – a religious Jerusalem boy, son of a Haredi family, who fled home following a severe fight with his father, a rigid and charismatic rabbi.
Efi is described as a sensitive child, with a hidden passion for freedom and a world beyond the fences of Haredi society. But he is also full of guilt, longing, and a yearning to be truly loved.
In one of his escapes from home, Efi finds himself hungry, tired, and alone – until Tomer’s eyes fall upon him. Tomer immediately understands the potential: to incorporate Efi into the image story.
An innocent, religious, runaway and scarred boy – who finds embrace with the “Israeli Napoleon” – this is a story the media will love.
4. The Ring as a Modern Symbol, Not Ancient
Contrary to what might seem – the ring wasn’t pulled from a museum. It was designed and created in luxurious handwork, by special order, precisely for the political move.
Its appearance is ancient – but the story behind it is cynical, marketing-driven, and self-aware: it’s the product of calculated branding, designed to immortalize Tomer as a historical figure in the public’s eyes, and it has a darker role.
Tomer wears the ring everywhere, displays it in closed meetings, hints at it in interviews. The symbol works: people begin to see him not just as a businessman, but as a vision, an idea, something greater than himself.
5. The Dynamic Between Them – Compassion or Exploitation?
Tomer brings Efi into his home: a huge room, new clothes, a credit card with unlimited credit, treatment as “family.”
But all this goodness comes with an emotional price tag: Efi is required to adapt himself to the story. To be “the child Tomer adopted,” to become a kind of reinforcement for Tomer’s soft image, and mainly – to be quiet and not ask questions.
Efi is torn between great gratitude for the rescue and fear that he is a game piece in the hands of a powerful and influential man.
6. Secondary Characters Who Add Complexity
Hannah, Tomer’s wife, sees in Efi the son she never really had, and tries to protect him from the cynicism of the world around her.
Puki, the son, who feels that Efi is stealing his father’s attention, and finds himself both hating and pitying him at the same time.
Charlie, the secret man, who begins to understand that he too is in the story, but isn’t sure he’s on the winning side.
7. Additional Axis – The Story of Nachum and Sasha
Simultaneously, a subplot is woven from the 1960s: Nachum, a quiet moshav boy after the Six-Day War, meets Sasha – a new immigrant from the Soviet Union, whom everyone calls a “spy.”
Their story raises questions of belonging, identity, fear of the different, and the price of rumors.
Here too there is an object – old shoes found among tree branches – that hold a small secret, and become the focus of fear and wild imagination. This story reflects the same theme of the entire book: what defines a person – what he really is, or what others tell about him.
8. The Climax and Danger
Tomer advances with the party plan. The ring, which until now served as a marketing tool, becomes in his eyes a real symbol. He begins to believe in himself that he is the “new Napoleon.”
But then everything gets complicated:
International businessmen begin pressuring Tomer to make bold decisions.
The media digs into his past and threatens to expose secrets.
Efi accidentally discovers the real price of being an “adopted son” in such a scheme.
Efi is forced to ask himself: whether to stay – or flee again, at the price of betraying the one who saved him.
9. Central Themes
The book explores in depth the issue of identity: is it possible to reinvent yourself, or does the past always return?
It asks about power, compassion, and exploitation: can a strong person truly do kindness – or does everything become a game piece?
And it delicately presents the gap between the story sold to the outside and the internal truth that each person carries.
10. Open Ending
Without spoilers – the book ends when the characters’ choices remain controversial. Not every question gets an answer, but it’s clear that the signet ring – which was born as a marketing trick – became a tool that left a deep emotional mark on everyone.
