May 1940. To escape the German invasion, the inhabitants of a small village in the north of France take to the road, like millions of other French people. On this exodus, the villagers take with them a German child, whose father opposed the Nazi regime and who has been jailed in Arras for lying about his nationality. During the chaos, the father is freed and sets out to find his son, accompanied by a Scottish soldier who is trying to get back to England.