Paul, the son of a Resistance fighter murdered in mysterious circumstances, meets Clara on an exchange trip to Bavaria in the 1960s. He is enthralled by the beautiful and self-possessed young woman and her fascination with photography, but as their relationship deepens he learns more about the tragedy that haunts her.

As their paths cross and intertwine in often unexpected ways over the years they each fulfil their own ambitions - Paul becomes a sculptor, she a photographer - but in their work, as in their lives, neither can escape the legay of horrors committed before their birth.