1952 in a suburb of New York: the pious Leon Sternberger is a cantor in a small Jewish community. One morning, he realizes that he has lost his faith in God. There is simply too much misery and injustice in this world. His friend Schames Rosen advises him to ask Rabbi Markus in Manhattan for advice. In the subway compartment, a young woman wants to take her own life because she cannot forget December 22, 1942 in Utrecht. That was the day her family was deported. On another train, he meets a man who also cannot forget December 22, 1942. The unusual events are connected in an exciting way and shed new light on the question of God's existence despite all the suffering.

An adaptation of Thomas Wolfe's literary classic, telling of the struggles of a young writer determined to be a success in New York's literary world of the 1920s, his married lover, and the brilliant editor who sees him as a blossoming genius. The story parallels the life of Wolfe himself and his affair with stage designer Aline Bernstein.