The Dabbous family, Syrian from Aleppo, belong to the upper middle class of the city. The head of the family is a doctor, friend of the regime and well liked. For a simple joke, the life of the Dabbous changes dramatically. The mother, Zeynab, is murdered; then Rashid, the father, is arrested and tortured. During the doctor's imprisonment, Isis launches an offensive against Aleppo and, in the ensuing confusion, Rashid manages to reunite his children and, at the cost of all their possessions, reaches Cairo. From there Rashid manages to win an international competition as head of orthopedics in Oslo. The sons, however, decide not to follow their father and sisters. The two boys go back to Aleppo and join the black militias. One of them, Abdul, will start "his of him" Jihad.