In an idyllic setting in the French countryside in 1944, a Catholic boys' school attempts to carry on its academic and cultural traditions in spite of the Nazi occupiers and French collaborators in close proximity. The headmaster, aided and abetted by a number of other priests, courageously hides three Jewish boys and carefully integrates them as Christians into the school population. After a series of missteps and misunderstandings, a significant friendship develops between Lucien, a bright, spirited Catholic boy, and Jean, one of the Jewish boys who is quiet, insightful, and always in fear of discovery. As the war nears its end and the Nazis heighten their efforts to identify and imprison any Jews left in the area, the threat to Jean and the others intensifies.
