A black Amer­i­can girl named Shi­rah grows up in Wash­ing­ton, DC, deter­mined to dis­cov­er and affirm her Jew­ish predilec­tions and her­itage. She becomes a grad­u­ate stu­dent at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Pen For­est, where her research allows her to con­nect with the ancient Egypt­ian woman Ase­n­ath, who mar­ried Joseph, son of Israel.