Second World War thriller in which the Jewish son of a Viennese art gallery owner holds the key to an artifact which could change the course of the war. Viktor Kaufmann (Moritz Bleibtreu) is the son of a wealthy family, thrown into turmoil by his father's announcement that he is in possession of a rare and important artifact. When the Nazis annex Austria shortly afterwards, the son of one of the family's servants, Rudi Smekal (Georg Friedrich) - raised almost as a member of the family - is forced into a position of betrayal and the SS arrive to take control of the artifact. The Kaufmann family are sent to a concentration camp, where Viktor's father dies. When the Nazis discover that the artifact is a mere copy of the original, Rudi is sent to locate Viktor in the camps and to uncover the location of the original. Will the betrayed Viktor cooperate with his former friend, or will Rudi's betrayal come back to haunt him?