Early on the morning of May 19, 1948, the long siege of Jerusalem's Old City is lifted as patriot soldiers break through the Zion Gate. But the celebration is short-lived-a long battle ensues. Moshe Sachar, a professor and strategist for the Haganah group, must keep the movement's momentum alive in the face of a dissenting mayor and a disguised SS assassin who has infiltrated the group. Meanwhile, Rachel, his pregnant wife, tends to the growing numbers of wounded at the hospital.