Arranged: Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. A young Orthodox woman, Rochel Meshenberg, is about to begin her first year as a special education teacher at the local public school. She is also about to begin the process of finding a husband via the time-tested method of using a "shadchen, " or matchmaker. As the school year gets underway, Rochel meets Nasira Khaldi, a Muslim woman of Syrian descent. Nasira is also a first-year teacher. The two young women - Rochel...

During the spread of The Black Death in 14th century Italy, ten young people flee to the countryside and spend their time there telling each other stories.