Rachel is a Jew living in Kishinev, Russia. When a young Christian man is murdered tensions mount as the Christians' distrust of the Jews is fueled by prejudice and rumour. Violence breaks out on Easter Sunday, 1903, and when it finally ends, Rachel finds that the person she loves most is dead and that her home has been destroyed. As she struggles to survive the aftermath of the riots, support comes from a young Christian named Sergei. The two young people find comfort in the bond that is growing between them, one of the few signs of goodness and hope in a time of chaos and violence.