Is this the hour of destiny promised by the ancient prophecies or the time of destruction?

Rabbi Lebowitz of Jerusalem’s Old City has waited a lifetime for this moment. No Jew has held the key to the Gate of Zion since AD 70. Yet on May 14, 1948, the day of Israel’s statehood, the British will turn that key—the symbol of his hope for the nation—over to him.

But even before the British evacuate, full-scale fighting breaks out between the Arabs and Jews. Five Middle Eastern nations gather around the tiny country to divide it up among themselves. Caught in the middle, the native Palestinians flee, clogging the roads in front of the incoming armies.

Is there any hope for peace? for stopping the bloodshed? Haganah leader Moshe Sachar must make a bold move—one that could cost him his life but means life or death for his people.