During the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon Leila and her infant son Elias lose their entire family to a cruel death of starvation. To avoid a life of destitution, she marries her second husband, Nadeem who never accepts Elias as his own and subjects him to years of abuse. When his half-brother, Charbel is born, Elias feels more rejected as the newborn is the apple of his father's eye, a son of his own blood, something Elias could never be.
The deep hurt and resentment continue into his adult years so when Elias has an opportunity to leave an economically crippled Lebanon for Australia, he takes it, eager to get away from his stepfather. Nadeem forces Charbel to go with Elias, preferring he paves the way for a prosperous future.
On arrival Elias becomes obsessed with building his fortune, desperate to prove his worth. Charbel spends his time pampering Hilda, his Lithuanian girlfriend.
The rest of the family eventually follow but struggle to fit in, finding the Australian people unashamedly racist. Accordingly, Nadeem forbids his family from associating with the Australian people and in turn forces his oldest daughter into an arranged marriage, she runs away from home. Charbel faces the same fate when his father finds out about Hilda.
With Charbel gone, Elias finally gains some acceptance from his stepfather. He marries Mary, a Lebanese woman and they have four children. Like his stepfather, Elias pushes the customs and traditions of his homeland. Disillusioned by the racism, he objects to his family associating with the 'immoral' Australian people.
Unlike her husband, Mary sees the children have already assimilated and a deep division between Elias and his kids ensues. Rather than take note, Elias stubbornly enforces his values, and the consequences are terrible, ultimately he drives his children out of his life. Tragically, in many ways he ends up just like his stepfather, a lonely old man.
