Lt. David Bradley [Tom Hanks] is an American pilot who joins the Royal Air Force (RAF) before the United States enters World War II. After his North American P-51 Mustang is shot down in North Africa, he recovers from his leg injury in Jerusalem. He is transferred to a boarding house until his leg is fully functional. During his recovery, David meets Sarah Perrara [Cristina Marsillach], a serene girl of Spanish Jewish descent. Her cousin, Victoria [Anat Atzmon], has convinced her young cousin to accompany her as an alibi, as she wants to meet up with her RAF boyfriend, Peter [Benedict Taylor].
Peter and Victoria tell David and Sarah of their upcoming wedding plans. When David is told beforehand, he tries to discourage his friend from making the serious commitment. Sarah does not approve either, reminding Victoria of the problems that it would create for her in the family.
When a drunk Australian serviceman tries to force Sarah to kiss him, her cousin, Nessim [Moni Moshonov], pops out of nowhere to aid her while David knocks him out by breaking his cane over his head. She rushes off, angry that her cousin was watching her. David feigns not knowing Sarah, to protect Victoria and Peter. Nessim, grateful for David's help, invites him for a drink. There, he confesses that he has been in love with Sarah since she was small. She is now 18, so he is hopeful. Nessim invites David to Sabbath dinner so that Sarah can thank him properly.
At the dinner, Sarah Perrara [Cristina Marsillach] sits among Sarah's many Sephardic relatives. The grandmother declares that [Tom Hanks] is a good man who will live a long life. Afterward, Sarah thanks David, for help with both the Australian incident and for maintaining Victoria's secret.
Although Sarah and David are attracted to each other, she is convinced that their diverse backgrounds mean that it could never work, so she refuses to go on a date with him. David tries to formally ask for her family's permission, but they disapprove, mostly because he is the gentile son of a Protestant minister. Soon realizing their disapproval, David makes a quick exit.
David and Sarah next see each other at Peter and Victoria's brief wedding. Although they keep running into each other in the small community, they part as frequently as they meet. They take a walk; when David asks Sarah to definitively tell him whether she wants him to leave her alone, she says yes, but then kisses him on the mouth for the first time.
The next day, as Nessim again speaks of loving her and of their possible future wedding, Sarah implies that she may love someone else. At a boxing match of one of her relatives, she tells him that she is leaving, then connects with David. Going for a walk, they dance briefly and kiss. Needing to see her again, David insists that they meet again, which one of her brothers witnesses. Sarah talks to her grandmother about her dilemma. The older woman senses her turmoil, but cannot offer any advice.
After David and Sarah spend the day together on a day trip out of town, he takes her to his boarding house. They are nearly intimate, but she again backs out. Before he is able to take her home, several of her younger family burst in, knock him out and drag her away.
Sarah is confined to her house, and they confiscate her clothes. A brother helps her sneak out; she goes to David's boarding house, and they spend the night together. Before he awakens, Sarah goes to Nessim's and, despite loving David, asks him to marry her. They make wedding plans while David is away in Egypt. He returns as he had promised, two days before the wedding. Just before he has to return, Sarah catches up to him. She promises that she will wait for him and write. They kiss and he flies away.
