February 1945. Europe is in ruins and the Red Army is searing its way across Germany's eastern marches, revenging itself upon a petrified population. The war is over, but for some the fight for survival is only just beginning. Alix, the aristocratic daughter of a German resistance fighter, is alone and desperate to flee before the Reds come.

In February 1945, Europe is in ruins and the Red Army is searing its way across Germany's eastern marches, revenging itself upon a petrified population. The war is over, but for some the fight for survival is only just beginning. Alix, the aristocratic daughter of a German resistance fighter, is alone and desperate to flee before the Reds come.

Walking on the beach, Minna and Tom unearth a skeleton. The remains are identified as those of Private Lew Campbell, a black American GI who drowned during a wartime exercise half a century before. Minna befriends Felix. As Minna coaxes Felix's story from her, it becomes clear that she knows more about the dead GI than she initially let on.

Minna and husband Tom retreat to a village on the Dorset coast to rebuild their foundering marriage. Walking on the beach one day, they unearth a human skeleton. The remains are identified as those of a black American GI who, it seems, drowned during a wartime exercise in the area half a century before.