What happens to Jacob Todd when he visits his grandfather's grave at the annual commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem is paralleled in time by the events of the dramatic day in World War Two when retreating troops were sheltered by the family of Geertrui Van Riet.

Geertrui, now an old lady, reveals secrets to Jacob in contemporary Amsterdam which completely overturn his view of himself and his country, and lead him to question his very place in the world.