Growing up in a Palestinian refugee camp, fourteen-year-old Ali Messalam learned to hate Jews at an early age. After escaping from Lebanon, he and his family end up in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Here, he tries to fit in and longs for nothing more than to be accepted by his fellow Arab youths. But to gain this recognition, he has to prove himself.

In a test of courage, he breaks into the apartment of his Russian neighbor’s, Alexander Zamskoy, an old Jewish WWII veteran. But Ali’s “friends” follow him into the apartment and vandalize the old man’s home with abandon. When Alexander returns home earlier than expected, he recognizes merely Ali and reports him to the police. To avoid being sentenced and deported, Ali is forced to seek out closeness to his enemy …