Nina Balatka, the daughter of the impoverished Prague merchant Josef Balatka, falls in love with the Jewish businessman Anton Trendellsohn and pledges herself to him, but the wealthy Christian Zamenoy family fiercely opposes the match and attempts to redirect her toward her cousin Ziska, while a dispute over title deeds belonging to the Balatka property entangles questions of love and religion with debt, property, family interest, and the deep prejudice separating Prague’s Christian and Jewish communities. Although Nina refuses to conceal her devotion to Anton despite poverty, family coercion, and religious warnings, the Zamenoys deliberately attempt to undermine the relationship by suggesting that she has secretly withheld the crucial documents Anton seeks, and as suspicion begins to disturb Anton’s trust in her, Nina finds herself forced to defend not only her right to love across religious boundaries but also her honesty before the very man for whom she has risked everything.