The effects of sterility and jealousy on a marriage are played out against the backdrop of World War II and the rising Hungartian persecution of Jews. Sylvia cannot have children, so she convinces a married Jewish woman Irene to have a child and then give it up to her for adoption. The plan works, but it also backfires. The way in which the child was adopted causes friction between Sylvia and her husband, and to make matters worse, Sylvia’s husband falls in love with Irene. A crisis looms when he asks his jealous wife to give Irene her identity papers, because Jews are being deported and Irene will die without their help.