Hisdadukh, blessed to be both beautiful and learned, is the youngest child of Talmudic sage Rav Hisda. The series about her unfolds in third-century Babylonia, in the household of her father, one of a handful of beleaguered rabbis struggling to establish new Jewish traditions after the destruction of Jerusalem's Holy Temple.

The world around her is full of conflict. Rome, fast becoming Christian, battles Zoroastrian Persia for dominance while Rav Hisda and his colleagues face defiance by those Jews who cling to the old ways. Against this backdrop Hisdadukh embarks on the tortuous path to become an enchantress in the very land where the word 'magic' originated - where some women draw on the occult to protect and to heal as some employ sorcery to gain power for themselves and to injure others.

But the conflict affecting Hisdadukh most intimately arises when her father brings his two best students before her, a mere child, and asks her which one she will marry. Astonishingly, Hisdadukh replies, “Both of them.” Thus she marries the older student, although it becomes clear that the younger one has not lost interest in her.

Despite her growing powers, Hisdadukh soon suffers a woman’s most devastating losses. Despairing, she flees to Eretz Israel, her people’s ancient homeland. There she confronts her greatest challenges – an evil sorceress intent on destroying her, a previous suitor she despises, and a charming mosaic artisan who offers her happiness at the cost of repudiating everything her family values most.