Selma Meir left the pristine cleanliness and order of life in Germany to become the head nurse at Sha'arei Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, braving epidemic, filth, and war. Schvester Selma, as she was affectionately known, stayed on from what was meant to be a three-year stay, for seventy years, treating the ill, adopting the orphaned, and transforming a primitive, disorganized hospital into a clean, well-functioning one. Here we meet Dr. Wallach, the fiery founder of the hospital; Dudu, the sharp-tongued washerwoman; and, of course, Schvester Selma, tiny, yet determined, devoting her life to helping others.