An opulent literary adaptation of the novel of the same name by Marianne Fredriksson: Simon is still a little boy when the clouds of World War II are cast over the coast before Gothenburg. In order to protect him, his adoptive parents Karin and Erik don't tell him that his biological father is a Jewish virtuoso violinist. Erik insists that the boy learn a proper craft, and a conflict ensues between the two as Simon turns increasingly towards his inner feelings and imagination. As a grown-up, Simon finally embarks on a quest to disover his true origins. This German-Scandinavian co-production features a superb cast of German and Swedish stars, including Bill Skarsgård, Jan Josef Liefers and Katharina Schüttler and was shot on location in southern Sweden as well as in studios in Berlin. Director Lisa Ohlin sticks closely to the literary original and her brilliantly photographed family chronicle bears the marks of epic cinema.