As World War II erupts, a young Jewish scribe flees Lithuania with his most prized possession, his in-progress copy of the Torah, setting him on an unusual collision course with a family of Chinese calligraphers living under Japanese occupation. A stranger in a strange land, Moshe's faith in his religion and his devotion to his beloved Elana, is challenged by the carnal attraction of Ming, the young disabled daughter of the renown poet, Zhao Heng. Under Master Zhaos tutelage, Moshe learns the power he wields when he sets his words onto parchment.