In 1937 Erik Hansen reluctantly joins about fifty other Danish boys on a school trip to Germany. In Lubeck and Hamburg he and his friends witness the oppression of Jews and meet Germans inspired by Adolf Hitler's strong leadership and declarations that Germany will rise to embrace its glorious past. Erik begins to understand that many Germans who subscribe to this false ideal willingly condone the needless suffering of others. The political environment of Nazi Germany forces all its citizens, and eventually citizens of nations worldwide, to take a position. Some rush without reflection into the mass movement, others stall or feign ignorance, others attempt to capitalize on the situation for personal gain, and still others try, often in vain, to resist. Erik, although just a visitor, must decide where in this spectrum he falls.