ROXAN, 17, is on the cusp of finishing school in Rojava, Syria when ISIS invade her village. Roxan witnesses her parents being executed and her younger sister captured as an ISIS bride. Roxan manages to escape and decides to join the Women's Protection Unit (YPJ), determined to rescue her sister. She undergoes military training with other volunteers and adapts quickly, standing out with her skill and determination. They train in tandem with the YPG, Men's Protection Unit, where foreign volunteers have also joined the cause. Their motivations can be questionable, in particular when it comes to James, an accountant from London, who has arrived to fight with no military training whatsoever.

Once they’ve completed training, volunteers are put in a tabor (unit). They go on missions to liberate villages from ISIS and are confronted with the true brutality of the caliphate: from indoctrinating children to using women as shields, it's a level of inhumanity that's inconceivable. There's a constant stream of displaced refugees flowing in the opposite direction. Roxan and James become close during these endless missions and the uncertainty of war. Roxan transforms into a fearless fighter as she and James are the last standing in their tabor when they liberate her sister. Roxan's ambition grows and she fulfills her destiny as a leader of her people into the final battle of Raqqa.