The film is set in May 1940 in and around the city of Rotterdam, where the young bakers assistant (and aspiring amateur boxer) Vincent de Graaf meets the wealthy Eva von Heerle, the daughter of German refugees who've fled Nazi Germany. Eva is engaged to Dirk Lagerwaard, a wealthy older industrial whom she does not love, whereas Vincent wants to emigrate to the United States to find a cure for his sick brother. The two fall in love..
