The Other Shore is set in Israel in the 1980s, between the Lebanese War and the outbreak of the first Intifada (1984-1989), a pivotal time which saw the final transition of Israel from a Zionist-socialist society to a Western-style consumer society. The novel follows the lives of representative characters across the entire breadth of Israeli society but focuses on two families - the Shachars, a kibbutz family, and the Goldsteins, representing the emerging Israeli middle class. The protagonists in effect vie to win the heart and soul of Israel itself, personified by the beautiful Ariela.