Just before the outbreak of World War II, Fabienne, a young German girl flees her abusive, widowed father and takes a job, caring for disabled children in a home on the outskirts of Berlin. When Jurgen, a young soldier, turns up on the doorstep of the home, asking if he can take Fabienne to the local dance, the women running the organisation agree, against their better judgement. Soon the young couple are in love.
With the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party, comes persecution of anyone seen to be “inferior to the German master race”. This includes children with disabilities and Fabienne and the women flee the Nazi wrath, taking the vulnerable children with them on an epic journey across Germany. Some will survive the Nazi punishments, others will not. But in the background is her relationship with Jurgen. Will he stay loyal or betray her to his masters in the Nazi party?
When she hears that her father is in jail, awaiting the death penalty for murder, she is forced to come out of hiding to visit him and make her peace. The risk is enormous, but in doing so, Fabienne learns some extraordinary news, which changes the course of her life.