The film takes place in 1942 and deals with the destiny of the catholic priest Henri Kremer. Like thousand other catholic clergymen he has been sent to the prison camp in Dachau, because he spoke out against the Nazi leadership. After his mother has died, he is sent to his home country Luxembourg. First he thinks that his well-connected family arranged the release, but he is there to fulfil a mission. The Gestapo forces him to persuade Bishop Philipp, the leader of Luxembourg's Catholic community, to sign a letter for full cooperation with the German authorities. Untill now the Bishop didn't even want to discuss this paper, so the chance to persuade him is not very big. But if Kremer fails, 18 priests in Dachau will be killed.