Created out of clay to protect the citizens of Mala Lubovnya from persecution, the golem is strong but desperately lonely. He is confined to an attic, and his only joy comes from listening to the evening prayers and watching a stonemason work across the street. Then the golem meets the mason—Jakob—who gives him the name Emet and becomes Emet's friend. But Jakob is caught between his faith and his attraction to men, while Emet knows he may eventually be used as an instrument of violence. Emet's name means truth—but can honest love survive for a golem and a devout man?