The main protagonist is a young Jewish boy, known as Daniel bar Jamin. As the story is set in first-century Galilee, Daniel is alive during the time of Jesus.
The story begins with a resentful Daniel, mourning the death of his father and uncle, both of whom were crucified by the Romans for being unable to pay tax. His mother is grief stricken and dies from the pain of heartbreak, so Daniel and his sister, Leah, are sent to live with their grandmother. However, after some time, their grandmother cannot look after the both of them anymore, so she sends Daniel to serve Amalek, the cruel blacksmith. However, Daniel escapes and is found by Rosh, leader of the rebels, and he joins their group.
Years later, Joel bar Hezron and his twin sister Malthace, find the rebels in the mountains and seek to join them. Joel says he will spy on the Romans for them.
Meanwhile, Daniel is informed that his grandmother is dying, so he comes back to his old village. Here, he encounters Leah again, and becomes her carer. Now that he is back in his city, Daniel starts to recruit more members for the rebels.
One day, Rosh assigns Joel a task to find out the name of a Roman leader coming to the city for a special banquet. Though Joel is successful in finding out the name, he is caught. Despite Rosh’s refusal to save Joel, Daniel and his rebel recruits attack the Romans. However, they suffer heavy losses in doing so and both Daniel and Joel realize that they should look to Jesus as their leader.
His sister, Leah, has also falls in love with a young Roman soldier who is kind and honest. In the end, Daniel allows the soldier into their home.
