Based on the book "The Devil in Vienna" (1988) by Doris Orgel, the film, set in 1938 Austria, tells the story of best friends, Jewish Inge Dournenvald and Lise Mueller, the daughter of Nazi sympathizers. When the two are not allowed to see each other, they meet secretly. When Nazi Germany annexes Austria, Inge and her family escape to America with the help of Lise.