France, 1940s. The French Riviera has not yet fallen into the hands of the Nazis: An Austrian Jewish surgeon found refuge in a villa on the Cote d'Azur. There, he heals an Italian pianist and gets acquainted with his mistress, Countess Francesca. While waiting to go to England, he operates clandestinely in the clinic of the friend who hosts him. Soon he becomes Francesca's lover. But gradually the aging doctor falls in love with her daughter, Laura, who is only 13 years old.