The Hope is the new State of Israel and its servants include Zev Barak, a young army officer who rises to become military attache in Washington - Sam Pasternak, arms procurer and master of shuttle diplomacy who heads up military intelligence - Benny Luria, fighter pilot whose finest hour comes over Sinai - Yael, the girl soldier with a penchant for powerful men - Nakhama, the beautiful Moroccan immigrant wife and mother - Kishote, the man with a charmed life who leads an armoured brigade through the desert - and in America there is the remarkable Virginia headmistress Emily, with a father in the CIA.
The towering story of modern Israel from Independence to the triumph of th Six-Day War is told through the bittersweet agonies of these people who between them helped create the Hope.