 Young athletes are engaged in a wrestling match as the story begins. There is competition not only for the title but also for the culture. The Jews are being humiliated by the Greeks as the Greek government tried to overthrow the people and force the Jews to turn to the Greek religion. There is only one thing that a Jew can do. He can bow down and submit to the Greek authorities or he can run and hide and hope not to be caught as he practices the religion of his fathers. Mora is an old woman who has faith that all will be right in the end, and her long time young friend, Huron, gives up his Jewish heritage and pledges his loyalty to the Greeks. Mora and others of her belief run and hide in fear of being found and destroyed or punished. Huron becomes one of the Greek soldiers but cannot turn in the Jews when he has a chance. The Maccabees are leaders in the overthrowing of the Greeks. They take a group of Jews to the mountain to escape from the Greek overthrow of the temple. While in the mountain, they begin to build a retaining wall for the river water. When the Greeks feel threatened by the "mountain encampment" they decide to go up and take the mountain. The talks and negotiations are not successful; in fact, the Greeks are overthrown by the rushing of the water as the Maccabees open the floodgates. The Jews are now free to return to Jerusalem and restore the temple to its original beauty and use as a place of worship. There is not oil enough for the 8-day feast so the candles are lit with just one day supply of oil. The miracle of this victory is that the oil was sufficient to keep the candles burning for the entire 8-day celebration.