Judit is a twelve-year-old girl with a gift: her talent for drawing. She lives with her mother and grandfather in Geneva. Her father, a famous painter, abandoned them and moved to Hungary when she was little. Judit is preparing to take part in a drawing competition when she is suddenly introduced to the game of chess, at which she proves unexpectedly good. She regularly goes and plays chess in the park and one day a game changes her life. This game is against an old and strange Iranian master, Mr Aliyat, who communitcates with Judit via enigmatic notes. When Mr Aliyat is arrested under suspicion of being a fundamentalist terrorist, the rules of Judit's game will have to change.