故事发生在二次世界大战刚刚结束之际,德国在战争中败落,大部分德军沦为战俘,被送入了战俘营中。在位于列宁格勒近郊的一间战俘营中,新来了一批德国战俘,负责看守他们的是一群英姿飒爽的俄国女人,她们的直系上司是巴普洛夫将军(约翰·马尔科维奇 John Malkovich 饰)。 娜塔莉亚(维拉·法梅加 Vera Farmiga 饰)是一名军医,她的丈夫因为在战争中受惊过度而精神失常,为了保护丈夫,娜塔莉亚不得不答应巴普洛夫将军的要求,来到战俘营,试图找出隐藏在俘虏之中的党卫军战犯。在这所阴森恐怖的战俘营中,无论是守卫还是囚犯,其身心都收到了战争所带来的深深的创伤,随着时间的推移,两方人马的立场和关系开始渐渐变得微妙起来。In the winter of 1946, in Leningrad, a group of German prisoners of war are sent to a female transit camp by the cruel Russian Commander Pavlov. When they arrive, the Russian female soldiers show the hostility to the enemies that have killed their husbands, families and friends; only Dr. Natalia and the cook treat the prisoners with dignity. Natalia has an agreement with Commander Pavlov to keep her former lover, who was wounded on the head during the war and is slow, in the camp instead of sending him to an institution in Siberia. Pavlov assigns Natalia to disclose members of the SS infiltrated in the group of prisoners. Natalia and the prisoner Max feel a great attraction for each other while the prisoner Klaus tries to convince Max to denounce a couple of prisoners to satisfy the Russian. Natalia convinces the businessman Yakov to organize an orchestra with the prisoners; they are invited to play in a ball, where the lonely women that survived the war dance with the Germans. After the ball, Natalia convinces Officer Elena to let the prisoners spend the night with the women. Natalia has one night stand with Max and while he sneaks back to the quarters, he is attacked by Klaus and saved by Natalia that discovers who Klaus actually is.