In 1942 Nazi-occupied France, Father Maximilian's church lies in ruins as fighting rages near by. The stained-glass windows are shattered and the roof ripped open, exposing his religious treasures to the elements. He mourns the deterioration of his church, and in his eyes, his priesthood. His desperation to restore his church and his name to its former glory leads him to fraternising and trading with the anti-Semitic regime. His choice lies between saving appearances or maintaining his virtue.