An Israeli soldier kidnapped by terrorists ends up in an Arab village. At the house of his overseer, he meets his thirteen-year-old daughter. They fall in love and, not knowing each other's language, find an opportunity for communication through Shakespeare's writings.

Variations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 can be read as stand-alone stories, but for a full understanding of the novel philosophy, the connecting thread that runs through the entire novel, the interweaving of characters and their situations, it's better to read the Variations in numbered sequence.