Little Andra and Tati Bucci, Italian Jews from Fiume, were 6 and 4 years old when, on March 29, 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz together with their mother, grandmother, aunt, and little cousin Sergio. They managed to survive the initial selections in the concentration camp because Dr. Mengele mistook them for twins and decided to take them to the Kinderblock, the barracks for children destined for eugenics experiments. The bond they formed with each other and the compassion of a female camp guard allowed the little sisters to survive until the liberation of the camp on January 27, 1945.

Schizophrenic Valerio—whose existence was the bane of her sister Laura—dies after escaping from a private clinic, but his ghost keeps tormenting her guilty conscience.