As a new, free Egypt emerges from British colonial rule after World War Two, Eli Cohen, an Egyptian Jew, ignores his mother's warnings and tries to enlist in the Egyptian army. He is shouted out of the enlistment office as an insidious Jew. Later, his closest friend, Sami Azar, is executed by the Nasser regime for participating in a Zionist bombing campaign aimed at thwarting British plans to turn over ownership of the Suez Canal to Egypt. These events turn Cohen into a fervent Zionist and hater of Arabs.
The Israeli tracks Cohen's rise as a top Israeli spy, from his resettlement in Israel, his marriage to the beautiful intelligent Nadia and his recruitment and training by the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service. He infiltrates into an unstable Syria where he becomes part of the country's political and military power structure that is bent on destroying Israel. Soon he finds himself under consideration for deputy defense minister.
This page-turning tale, based loosely on the life of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen, explores the terrible effects of ethnic hatred on individuals, peoples and nations.