In 1939 Berlin, eighteen-year-old Simon Horowitz's world is stirred by his father's 1742 Guarneri del Gesu violin. When Nazis march across Europe and Simon is sent to Dachau, he finds unexpected kindness, and a chance to live.
In the present day, orchestra conductor Rafael Gomez finds himself inspired by Daniel Horowitz, a fourteen-year-old violin virtuoso who refuses to play. When Rafael learns that the boy's family once owned a precious violin believed to have been lost forever, Rafael seizes the power of history and discovers a family story like no other.