In 1938 Paris, Vera von Schalburg, a young German with Russian, Danish, and Polish roots, is a very special woman. She speaks several languages fluently, has a photographic memory, intelligence, and presence of mind, and is callous. Except for her little son Christian, she has no one in the world. In order to keep Christian and herself afloat, she works as a prostitute in an elegant brothel. But then she gets an unusual offer.