In 1943 Italy, nuns hide and protect Jewish children who have escaped from a concentration camp. The Italian camp has been taken over by German forces with a colonel ( Albert Lieven) and his sadistic lieutenant (Peter Arne) in command. When the colonel and lieutenant threaten to execute some of the nuns, including Mother Katharine (Lilli Palmer), for helping the Jewish children to escape, the Italian soldiers block the execution and shoot the Germans dead. The Italian soldiers then leave the camp to join local Italian partisans hiding in the nearby hills.