Tillie and Samira were born 175 years apart, but their parallel stories eerily mirror one another across generations. Tillie is a Victorian pioneer woman sent to Afghanistan to fulfill wifely duties for an officer of the British Raj, while Samira is a Muslim schoolgirl who runs away to Syria to become the jihadi bride of an ISIS fighter. Both are confronted with tragedy in war-torn lands as they face the oppressive realities of their male-dominated landscapes.