Plot Synopsis

Based on the novel by Alice Hoffman. Set in ancient Israel, the miniseries features a group of extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival at the siege of Masada. After being forced out of their homes in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E., 900 Jews were ensconced in a fortress at Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert, where they held out for months against the vast Roman armies. The miniseries recounts the events from the perspective of a few extraordinary women who arrive at Masada with unique backstories, but a common bond for survival. Each of the women come to Masada by a different path. Yael's mother died in childbirth, and her father, an expert assassin, never forgave her for that death. Shirah, born in Alexandria, is wise in the ways of ancient magic and medicine, a woman with uncanny insight and power. Aziza is a warrior's daughter, raised as a boy, a fearless rider and expert marksman who finds passion with a fellow soldier. The lives of these complex and fiercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege. Additionally, these women, who work together daily as dovekeepers, are each keeping long-hidden secrets that they now must reveal to save their lives.