Hamburg, April 1945. All the city's war-weary residents impatiently await the end of the war. All except Lena. In her late 40s, Lena is a vivacious woman of striking beauty and self-confidence. She runs a canteen, and has a son on flak service and a husband on the front. And now she has a lover: the young marine Hermann, who came up to her flat for a home-cooked meal and stayed on to ride out the end of the war. Though he still hopes for a "final victory," he's realistic enough to know that there's little point in going off to be slaughtered. Thus begins a period of hushed erotic imprisonment for him, and of nearly forgotten intimacy for Lena. Danger lurks downstairs, however, since Lena's neighbor suspects that she's hiding someone ? an offense punishable by death. Lena knows that Hermann longs to be free, and that he has a wife and child he lied to her about. Yet she treasures every moment with her young lover, and dreads the day when the war will be over. When that day comes, she keeps the news from him. But how long can she keep her "prisoner of love" in the dark?