Germany in the 1930s. Jón Leifs has a promising future when he falls in love with and marries a Jewish girl, Annie Riethof. The couple settles in Berlin, where Annie is a succesful concert pianist. Jón's quest for success soon becomes a quest for survival. His love for music has to fight his love for his Jewish wife and Jewish daughters. He is forced to choose between his career and his family, in a country which has become hell on earth.