Jerusalem in 66 CE seethes under Roman Rule. A corrupt procurator, to cover his own crimes, works to drive the Jewish population of Judea and the Galilee to rebel. Assisting him in this are religious and nationalist radicals who are busy fomenting war. The rabbinical establishment, the priests, the rich and the nobility, oppose what they believe will be a disastrous conflict. The common people just want to live their lives in peace. The revolutionaries, though a distinct minority, through their drive and initiative, control the course of events.

They assassinate a prominent peace rabbi, take over a rabbinical assembly and force it to issue anti-Roman decrees, and then drive out the Roman garrison. War is inevitable. Three men find themselves in the center of this maelstrom: Rabbi Aaron, brother of the assassinated rabbi and himself an advocate for peace; Judah ben Ezra, an early revolutionary who sets the rebellion in motion; and Reuven, son of Rabbi Aaron, who joins the revolutionary band led by Judah.

The war goes well for the Jewish rebels at first. Then Emperor Nero appoints his greatest general, Vespasian, and the rebels help by weakening themselves with constant bloody infighting. The noose slowly tightens around the capital of Jerusalem.

Rabbi Aaron, Judah ben Ezra, and Reuven, are forced to confront the choices they have made as doom envelops the land and the people they love.