The love story of Hannah and Thomasz begins in 1944 in a concentration camp. The young Jewish woman and the political prisoner can only meet in secret and at the risk of their lives. When Hannah gets pregnant, Tomasz draws up a dangerous plan: He pretends to be an SS officer. The lovers successfully escape the camp and even reach Tomasz' parental home. But the joy of being reunited does not last. Stefania, a devout Catholic, refuses to allow her son to marry Hannah. When Hannah has a miscarriage, Tomasz hides her on his sister-in-law's farm, while he and his brother go to join the Polish resistance. A few months later only Czeslaw returns from Warsaw, having last seen Tomasz in a final bloody battle. Hoping that Tomasz will return nonetheless, Hannah stays on the farm even after the war is over. But Stefania torments her so badly that she finally concedes and sets out to Berlin on foot. When Tomasz returns home mere weeks later, his mother makes a decision with far-reaching consequences.