When Daniel first returns to visit his grandmother and his sister, Leah, after years of living with Rosh's band on the mountain, he is afraid that these two women will threaten everything he has worked for and cared about. Daniel is a confirmed zealot, and he has vowed to fight against the Romans and free Israel from their clutches. He wants to kill them all, and he is confident that, as part of Rosh's band, he will get his chance to do so.

Yet as he sits in his grandmother's little hut, he fears that this visit has been a mistake, that his long-buried love for his family will surface and lead him to stay with them, to take care of them and forget his vow. He does not want to leave the mountain and Rosh, but he fears that he might be compelled by the poverty and dependence of his grandmother and Leah. He is afraid he will lose his freedom.

Later in the story, Daniel sits beside his grandmother as she is dying. He is more afraid than ever that he will be forced to stay in the village and care for Leah, that he will give in to what Rosh calls his “weakness” (i.e., his kind heart). Again, Daniel is afraid that he will have to give up what he wants to take on responsibilities that are forced upon him, for there is no one else to care for Leah.

Indeed, this is what happens. Daniel cannot bring himself to leave his sister alone. He does not return to the mountain but instead moves into Simon's house and takes over his blacksmith shop. He must learn to adjust his goals and his life.