Saul Kestner, a small-town county physician in 1940 Croatia, agonizes over the possibility of German invasion and whether his family should emigrate. His teen-aged son, Peter, has fallen in love with Silvia, who is visiting from the big city. While Saul is overburdened by demands of his medical practice, Germany quickly defeats Yugoslavia in April, 1941, creates a fascist puppet state of Croatia, and brings escalating havoc to the local Jewish population. A county clerk whose wife Saul had treated warns Saul about impending deportation and under false pretext issues travel permits for Saul's family to go to Zagreb. There, Saul pays dearly for his family to be smuggled into Italy, where they are sent into confinement in a northern province. There they also meet other refugees: The beautiful Stella despairs about her fiancé; an old man tries to console his wife with incredible salvation stories about their deported son; and Olga, a married woman, moves in with her lover. Meanwhile, Saul's wife Clara struggles with food shortages and Peter is conflicted about his feelings for Marisa, who reminds him of Silvia. Then in 1943 the Allies land in southern Italy. The Italian fascist government collapses, German troops invade Italy, and Saul's family is on the run again. This time they head south by train, by cart, and on foot through bombed out cities. Will all of them be able to dodge the Germans, cross the front lines, and finally be freed by the Allies?