In 1947, two young people—one a Polish Jew and the other the daughter of a British major—make their way to Palestine for very different reasons and under very different circumstances.

After escaping from a Jewish refugee ship, Dov, a Polish Jew, and Emily, the daughter of a British major, are taken to a Jewish kibbutz and are caught up in the danger and violence between the Jews, Arabs, and British in Palestine in 1947.

In 1947 two teenagers from different backgrounds are thrown together once again as the United Nations votes to create the state of Israel.

The fighting between Jews and Arabs before the British withdrawal from Palestine in 1948 brings hardship and danger to both Dov, the young Jewish refugee from Poland, and Emily, the daughter of a British officer.

In 1948 while on her way back to England from war-torn Jerusalem, Emily is delayed on Cyprus, where she finds her friend Dov's mother in a Jewish refugee camp and wonders how she can get this news back to him.

War breaks out following Israel's 1948 declaration of independence, finding Dov and Emily at Yad Shalom kibbutz helping old friends—and perhaps a new enemy—prepare for the approach of Arab soldiers, as Dov struggles with questions about his faith.