艾德华是著名的钢琴师，事业上朝三暮四，感情上也是水性杨花。在妻子要出走的威逼下，他决定暂时多花一些时间陪着家人。

在二战即将结束的时候，动物园的教授的孙女和儿子来做客。教授因为懦弱而自责，并于儿子发生了争吵。儿子一气之下开车走了，随即被德国人拦截，因为走私火腿和抵抗运动的人一起被枪毙了。
教授把孙女留在了身边，并且谎称儿子也是抵抗运动，在外省作战……
在爷孙的日常交往中，教授逐渐找到了勇气，小女孩儿也渐渐明白了父亲的秘密。。。

Louise lives alone and seems to like it that way. She has been through a divorce and the recent death of her mother. Recently, she has moved to Annecy, a moderate-sized city, to take work as a schoolteacher. She encounters a much younger man, Luigi, an Italian who is down on his luck. Though he moved to France to find work, he was robbed of his money and papers and is stranded. When he helps her bury her dogs, which her neighbour has poisoned for barking, their relationship grows to a new level.