Throughout the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazi Germany, Walter Baum, a slight young man with a stout heart and lofty ideals, never loses sight of what he values most: the love of his wife and children. As a Jewish sociologist in post-World War I Germany, Walter watches with dread as friends and family either become members of the Brownshirts or fall victim to them. His marriage to Caroline, a like-minded Protestant, causes family estrangements and forces Walter, Caroline, and their two children to try to flee from the catastrophic events that engulf Europe during the Second...