 In the winter of 1942-43, a Jewish family leaps from a train going through Silesia. They are separated in the woods, and Leon, a local peasant who s now a farmer of some wealth, discovers the woman, Rosa, and hides her in his cellar. Leon s a middle-aged Catholic bachelor, tormented by his sexual drive. He doesn t tell Rosa he s seen signs her husband is alive, and he begs her to love him. Rosa offers herself to Leon if he ll help a local Jew in hiding who needs money. Leon pays, and love between Rosa and him does develop, but then Leon s peasant subservience and his limited empathy lead to tragedy. At the war s end, a ray of sunshine comes from an unexpected place.