Cape Town 1939. On the eve of World War II, young exchange teacher Kurt Falk meets Hildegard Mereis and falls in love at first sight. Just two days later, he rushes off to escape impending internment. However, on his adventurous flight north, Kurt quickly gets caught up in the turmoil of war: he is captured, narrowly survives the torpedoing of the transport ship, and after many stops, ends up in an Australian internment camp, while Hildegard must find her own way in Cape Town. Six years pass before the war is over, but it takes another three years for Kurt to secure a passage back to Southern Africa. Almost ten years during which they can only write letters to each other. And when a meeting finally becomes possible, Hildegard is no longer free...