In 25 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.
A young gladiator enslaved in the Roman arena in 171 A.D. escapes by chariot towards the freedom of Hadrian's Wall. Fighting centurions and mercenaries along the way, he becomes a folk hero for all those struggling to fight Roman oppression.
Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala.
Young Ben-Hur and Messala were the best of friends. They loved to race chariots. One day, Messala had to leave Jerusalem and his Jewish friend, to study in Rome and become a Roman officer. When Messala came back, the boyhood friends were now men, but friends no longer. Messala falsely imprisoned Ben-Hur’s family and sent him to the galleys. But Ben-Hur survived. And he returned, seeking his family – and Messala. What happened next, and what became of them at the hands of a magnificent Stranger, makes BEN-HUR: A RACE TO GLORY an epic, thrilling, inspiring adventure of two childhood friends one Roman and one Jew whose friendship is tested. Only the healing grace of Christ can make Ben Hur whole again.
A recently divorced reporter moves back to her hometown of Nantes with her daughter, but painful memories await her there… When she was just 16, her Jehovah’s Witness parents forced her to give up her newborn son, a decision that drove her to run away from home and leave Nantes.