Description

Summer of 1938. An adventurous young Dutch pastor and his wife, are called to a new parish in the northern province of the country, a wide rural lowland of fertile fields and farms. They are novices in the ways of the country folk but make a favourable impression on the locals through their dedication and cheerful service to the community. While life goes on and their outreach touches many lives, across the border only a few miles to the east there looms the very present threat of war.

Then suddenly, in May 1940, the German militia over-run the country. In the midst of challenges posed by their spiritual work and the demands of the new overlords, a letter arrives voicing a plaintive cry - from Amsterdam where the substantial population of Dutch Jews is being rounded up for deportation.

Lily, a Jewish photographer and casual friend of the couple is on the verge of being taken captive by the Nazis. The pastor and his wife act quickly to grant her refuge in their own home. Presently another joins her, then another, until their household is full of 8 guests, all undercover, and all needing shelter, food and loving care. And with this the danger to the pastor and his wife increases. He is now heavily engaged in the work of saving lives through the Dutch Resistance while most of his congregation has no idea of the extent of their secret involvement. Yet forces that betray are lurking close at hand. Their house is put under surveillance and gradually the noose tightens...