Journey of Sorrow, Journey of Hope tells the story of Shirin, a woman living in Persia in the mid-1800s, a time of great religious fervour. When the government burns her home because of her association with the Bahá'í Faith, a religion considered to be a heresy by the Persian government, she is forced to leave her native land and seek protection in Russia, where she falls in love and learns about the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh. When she must leave Russia to settle in France, she has learned much about the new Faith, as well as discovered the strength within herself to survive and overcome hardship.