The narrative unfolds from a Nazi military hospital prison, where Danish saboteur Michael Lans languishes and retraces through memories and dreams of the events leading up to his capture. He plays with his wound, longs for his love interest in Ruth, and befriends a sympathetic German guard, Steinz. He relates his outings with Ruth, his suspicions of one of his fellow saboteurs, and of the undertaking of the sabotage of a Nazi aircraft factory after which he was captured. Torture and interrogation do not break him. In the face of death, he reminisces about Ruth and his companions..
