Herman Geburtig is the only man alive who can testify against an infamous Nazi in Austria, but first he must be found. Attractive Viennese reporter Susanne Ressel leaves her Jewish actor boyfriend Danny Demant and tracks down the reluctant witness in New York. While struggling to convince him to return to Austria, Ressel finds herself falling in love with the older, world-weary Geburtig.

Meanwhile, as production starts on a new concentration camp film in Auschwitz, Danny's role as a prisoner forces him to confront his own Jewish background and the memories of his parents' torturous deaths. Compounding this conflict, the comforting familiarity of Susanne has been replaced by the detached eroticism of a new lover.

As the trial date approaches, past and present collide through the characters' own haunted hallucinations; forcing all concerned to question where they've been, even as they wrestle with the reality of where they are. Amidst this turmoil, Ressel and Geburtig strive to overcome the emotional confusion and escape with their newfound love intact.