Lotte is a young art student growing up in Berlin 1937. Her stepmother Paula, a renowned opera singer, takes on a new singing teacher, Alfred, an imposing, manipulative character. Soon Lotte and Paula are passionately drawn to Alfred's obsessive self-belief and against the backdrop of impending war, all three spiral emotionally out of control. When Lotte discovers a previously hidden family secret she is terrified she no longer has control over her future. Alfred and Paula are forced to confront their own self-interest and fight each other to save Lotte from herself.