A Jewish family man in medieval Spain struggles to save his family amidst the chaos surrounding the expulsion of his people.

April 1492: A royal decree condemns all practicing Jews to exile. Despite a thousand years of history, the machinations of the Inquisition bring the iron hand of the state down upon an entire community.

Abraham Toledano finds himself in the center of this storm. A married merchant with a daughter, he is by nature an optimist who believes the worst will pass. But he soon comes to realize that he will have to fight to protect everything he holds dear.

His nephew, Rafael, is the son of a converso (Jew who has converted to Catholicism). But the conversos attract most attention from the Spanish authorities and when a desperate Rafael arrives at his door in the middle of the night, Abraham realizes he is in trouble. Rafael has been secretly practicing as a Jew and – despite his uncle’s help – he is eventually captured, imprisoned and tortured.

Abraham embarks on a struggle to save Rafael’s life but powerful forces stand against him. Unseen yet feared by all, Grand Inquisitor Torquemada is the man behind the expulsion. In Toledo, where Abraham and his family live, Torquemada’s policies are enforced by the local archbishop and statesman, Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza. Though determined to see his master’s will done, Gonzalez is not entirely without sympathy for the Jews of his city. His deputy – Captain Sanchez – however, is a venal anti-Semite whose investigations threaten both Rafael and Abraham.

The Toledano family provide Abraham with both support and yet more challenges. His temperamental wife, Gracia, faces pressure from her family to convert and his daughter, Rosa, is embroiled in a passionate romance with a local Christian boy.

Abraham’s efforts to free Rafael take him into a shadowy world of intrigue and eventually to the door of Don Isaac Abarbanel, a wealthy Jew who retains influence at the Spanish court. A reprieve for Rafael and other victims of the Inquisition seems possible when Abarbanel gains an audience with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to appeal against the decree. But Abraham looks on as a devastating intervention from Torquemada foils Abarbanel and seals the fate of the Jews.

Abraham returns to Toledo and experiences a terrifying shock. An ‘act of faith’ is already under way; Rafael faces execution at a ceremony outside the city. Abraham pleads with Mendoza but the archbishop will not be swayed. When he realises Rafael’s mother is also present, Abraham drags her away from the horrific scene. Refusing a last-minute offer of repentance, Rafael burns at the stake, defiantly praying to his god.

Believing he has failed utterly, Abraham reaches his lowest ebb. Then, somehow finding an inner strength, he realizes that all he can do is salvage some goodness amid so much evil. Both his wife and daughter remain loyal, and – now united – the family do all they can to help their fellow exiles. Abraham escorts vulnerable paupers from the city and donates almost all his wealth to help hundreds escape. But his noble acts attract the attention of Captain Sanchez; and only the mercy of Archbishop Mendoza allows Abraham to escape the wrath of the Inquisition.

Now a respected figure, he leads his people aboard the ships as they depart Spain, courageous in the face of vicious oppression and an uncertain future.