It's a hot, dusty day when Omar Yussef arrives in Gaza. He discovers that there's been an arrest: a fellow teacher has been brutally thrown in jail without trial. Omar Yussef instinctively smells a rat, and determines to help the unknown man.

The person responsible for the arrest is Colonel Fara, the most powerful - and dangerous - man in the area. His friends urge him not to get involved, but Omar Yussef confronts the colonel, and unwittingly becomes embroiled in a deadly private war. When his colleague is kidnapped and another is murdered, his struggle for justice intensifies, and he begins to understand why people tell him that, in Gaza, all crimes are connected. As the dust storm swirls around him, Omar Yussef is faced with the terrible realisation that he is fighting to save not just his colleague, but himself.