In 1948, as violence erupts in Jerusalem, a young Arab woman, Hind Husseini, finds fifty-five abandoned children and faces the biggest challenge of her life - changing their destiny. She dedicates her life to providing the children with love and education, and established the Dar El-Tifel orphanage. As the years pass and the conflict rages on, Hind finds that - despite her best efforts - some of her older students are taking part in the violent struggle for Palestinian independence, including one of her brightest students, Miral. Rula Jebreal traces the lives of generations of Palestinians in order to understand the intractable conflict. Based on fact, Hind Husseini, benefactor of thousands of children, is the figurehead in this examination of race, religion and what a homeland means.