Paris, July 1942: The French police brutally arrest ten year-old Sarah and her family in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard thinking that she'll be back in a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. She stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, she questions her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.