It's eastern Europe, 1863. Snatched from his village to be pressed into service in the Tsar's army, 13-year-old Zalaman embarks on a series of harrowing adventures, risking his life on numerous occasions as he engages in attacks on the Cossacks and joins in the struggle to oust the invading Russians.

Profoundly changed by both physical and moral challenges, Zalaman returns to his shtetl no longer the boy who left, but a warrior. Confronted with the barbarity of pogroms at home and deeply traumatized, he sets off on an odyssey through eastern Europe in the attempt to make peace with his demons.