Mazen (Mazen Saade) has just finished serving a 15-year sentence in an Israeli prison for setting a fire on a Jewish settlement. His younger brother Taher (Taher Najeeb) meets him and brings him back to the Palestinian countryside he loves so dearly. There is a large and festive party for Mazen who is considered a hero for his act of defiance and rebellion. He is no longer animated by politics whereas his brother is enraged over the checkpoints and the new settlements that are being set up. Both men are unprepared for the conflict that will erupt between them from within the Palestinian community. And since their parents are dead, they are all they have in the world.

Although Raeda (Raeda Adon) is by far the most beautiful woman in the village, she has never kissed a man and is quite unsure about her emotions. She is close to her older sister (Arren Umari) who has disappointed her authoritarian father (Muhammad Bacri) by moving to the city. Knowing that his cancer is getting worse, he gets Mazen to promise that he will look after the 200,000 year old olive tree which is sacred to him and other elders in the community. Even on his death bed, this dominating patriarch tries to exert his will over his daughter Raeda, who has fallen in love with both brothers: first the passionate Taher and then the more romantic and poetic Mazen. The rift between the father and the two brothers proves to be a very painful process for everyone.

Hanna Elias, the writer and director, has created an engrossing family drama that conveys a stunning and beautiful overview of Palestine and the hold this land has over the people. It also gives us yet another glimpse of the divisive role tradition, sexual repression, and family loyalty still play in this culture. All of the turmoil that ensues stems from these toxins. As we all know, there are many kinds of war.