A British journalist is caught up in the horror of a military siege during World War II. Leningrad becomes the target of Hitler (Eckehard Hoffman) when he orders his military leader Von Leeb (Armin Mueller-Stahl) to isolate the city and cut it off from food or other supplies to survive, hoping to bring it to a slow death. Kate Davis (Mira Sorvino) becomes part of the story when she is trapped with the Russians in their city. Her savior is Nina Tsvetkova (Olga Sutulova), a Russian military official. Nina gives the journalist sanctuary and provides identity papers and food when the situation grows untenable. Philip Parker (Gabriel Byrne), Kate’s boyfriend, escaped the city before the siege, but believes she is now dead as the starvation begins to wipe out the citizens.