Isaac is the son of American missionary doctors in Java, Indonesia. He's happy there, and is best friends with a local Muslim boy, Ismail - a friendship they both believe is as solid as the majestic flame tree just outside the mission's gates. But when the hospital where Isaac's parents work is threatened by an Islamic fundamentalist group, their tightly knit community begins to unravel. Neighbour turns against neighbour, friend against friend. Even Ismail no longer calls.
Isaac can't understand what has happened. And it isn't until he himself is taken hostage, amid terrorist attacks, that he begins to confront the conflict between his Christian upbringing and his friends' own beliefs. Can the two boys be reconciled as religion and unrest fan the flames of mistrust?
