Michaela, a lost and lonely young woman, gets a mysterious message from the father she never knew, sending her on a journey to discover twisted family secrets. As she uncovers each piece of the puzzle, she descends even deeper into their warped world of pilgrims and pyromania. Dragged out to the desert, and pushed to the very edge, Michaela is forced to make a choice: preserve the delicate web that history has woven for her family, or strike out on her own and destroy the cycle of evil in her blood. That is, if she can survive the fire.

Based on the novel "Panther in the Basement" by the world-renowned author, Amos Oz, the movie takes place in Palestine in 1947, just a few months before Israel becomes a state. Proffy Liebowitz, a militant yet sensitive eleven year old wants nothing more than for the occupying British to get the hell out of his land. Proffy and his two friends spend most of their time plotting ways to terrorize and/or blow up the British until one evening, while he's out after curfew, Proffy is seized by Sergeant Dunlop, a British officer. Instead of arresting him, he deposits him back home,but what ensues in the weeks to come is a friendship between these two foes. Proffy looks to Dunlop as a father figure as his own father is cold and remote. Dunlop, lonely and poetic, loves the spirited boy and they find lots to talk about in their meetings which Proffy must keep a secret from his friends and family...