The story is set in the aftermath of World War II. Nurse Kitty Fremont befriends Karen Hansen Clement, a teenage refugee. She encounters Ari Ben Canaan, a dedicated member of the Jewish underground resistance group Haganah. Ari commandeers a cargo ship for a clandestine mission to transport Holocaust survivors from a British internment camp in Cyprus to Palestine, defying a British blockade. The journey is perilous, sharply highlighting the struggle between the refugees' desperation and the authorities' determination to uphold immigration restrictions.

As tensions escalate, political and personal conflicts arise. Ari’s father, Barak Ben Canaan, a leader in the Jewish community, is entangled in negotiations and disputes with various factions. Meanwhile, Kitty and Ari’s relationship deepens amidst the turbulent backdrop of armed conflicts and humanitarian crises. The narrative explores themes of survival, identity, and the quest for a homeland against the larger canvas of the emerging Israeli state and its struggle for independence. As events unfold, the characters face morally complex decisions that will shape their destinies and the future of their people.