In 1936, the Moroccan coastal village of Mogador is under French colonial control. It is home to Hélène, the 24-year-old daughter of a judge. Generous, intelligent and lively, she helps to care for the poor of the community under the supervision of an elderly French doctor. The commander of the local garrison, Albert Forjat, wants to marry her. At the officers' ball, Hélène meets Belkacem, a handsome young merchant from the desert community of Zagora. An intense passion ignites between the two despite the fact that Hélène comes from a strict Catholic family and Belkacem is a devout Muslim who is helping to fund the Moroccan resistance movement. Even though their liaison evokes strong disapproval from both the French and Moroccan communities, they decide to marry and live in Zagora. There, in the often hostile environment of the grand Sahara, Hélène contends with a difficult life of multiple cultural differences. Sometimes she feels discouraged. To show his love, Belkacem builds a chapel for her that a priest from Mogador will consecrate on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, Forjat is named commander of the troops now massing in the Sahara. He is convinced that Belkacem is financing the rebellion and will use any means to eliminate him. A war of survival now begins... for Belkacem who is taken from home and conscripted into the Foreign Legion, and for the pregnant Hélène who searches desperately to find him.