Lebanon, 1902. Young Hakim Solomon, angered by the Turks" abuse of the Arab Christians, joins a rebel group to fight the oppressive Ottoman Empire. He is betrayed and forced to flee to America. Upon arriving at Ellis Island, he finds that life in a foreign land is more complicated than he expected. He must learn a new language, must respect the values of at least half a dozen cultures, and must reconcile his Arab traditions with the more progressive ways of the Americans. The last challenge proves to be the most difficult. He has made a promise to his father to send for the Lebanese girl to whom he is betrothed but has never met. While working on a farm in New York State, he falls in love with a beautiful American girl named Mia. Mia, the daughter of Sicilian immigrants, has little understanding of the promise Hakim made in a faraway land or of his need to honor what she considers an archaic tradition. He agonizes over the choice between his all-consuming desire for Mia and his promise to his father. When he eventually has a family of his own, his children, particularly his eldest son, challenge his traditions anew.