Roman returns home to their overcrowded room in an apartment on Miła Street. He gives the bread to his mother, Maja, claiming that the vendor gave it to them rather than admitting that he took it from a dying child. Roman holds Eleonora, worrying about her deteriorating health in the ghetto conditions. Roman reflects on the comfortable, middle-class life that the family led before the Nazis came to power and on the gradual disintegration of that life within the walls of the ghetto. He realizes that Eleonora is starving and will likely die if things don’t change. 

The family discusses conflicting rumors about their future. Samuel shares an optimistic rumor about relocation to a work camp in Treblinka, believing that the Germans need their labor. However, Maja counters with a rumor she heard about mass exterminations at a camp called Chełmno. Samuel dismisses this possibility, maintaining his belief that the Germans require their labor. Maja asks Roman to investigate what his coworkers have heard about these rumors, and Roman resolves to ask his coworker, who is nicknamed “Pigeon,” for information.

In spring 1942, 13-year-old Emilia Slaska lives under the false identity of Elżbieta Rabinek in an apartment building on the “Aryan” side of Warsaw. Her adoptive parents permit her to visit the building’s courtyard in the evenings, when she is less likely to encounter German soldiers on their way to and from the nearby Warsaw Ghetto. Bored of the courtyard and desperate for companionship, she secretly visits her neighbor Sara Wieczorek, a nurse. Her adoptive father, Mateusz, catches her in this deception and confronts her at their apartment alongside her protective adoptive mother, Truda, and her authoritative uncle Piotr.

Emilia lashes out in frustration during the confrontation and is sent to her room. Later, Mateusz comforts her, and she admits that she visits Sara out of loneliness. Understanding her need for connection, Mateusz permits the visits to continue but establishes one firm condition: She must never lie to them again.

Over three weeks after the family’s discussion of rumors, Roman is working at his job at a factory owned by Sala Brenner, making bootstraps for German soldiers. He approaches his coworker, Pigeon, and tries to initiate a conversation about the rumors. Pigeon reveals that his real name is Chaim Rosen, but Roman finds himself unable to bring up the difficult topic he wants to talk about. After work, Chaim follows Roman through the streets of the ghetto and engages him in conversation. He correctly deduces that Roman seeks information about the deportation rumors. Chaim states that the deportations are real and will lead to death, but Roman initially dismisses this assessment.

Over the next three weeks, Chaim persistently befriends Roman despite his initial resistance. Roman eventually accepts the friendship and asks again about the rumors circulating through the ghetto. Chaim confirms that his information is reliable and offers to help Roman join the resistance movement. However, Roman refuses this offer, stating that his priority remains protecting his family rather than engaging in armed resistance against the Germans.

On the night before Emilia’s 14th birthday, she hears a noise and uses her key to enter Sara’s apartment. In the hallway, she startles a terrified girl courier who immediately flees. Inside the apartment, Emilia discovers Sara hiding four emaciated and filthy Jewish children who have escaped the ghetto through the sewer system.

Emilia helps Sara clean a sewage trail from the hallway to conceal evidence of the children’s presence. Sara explains that a rescue operation was compromised and that the children were brought to her in desperation. She confesses that the loss of her own son motivates her rescue work. After a brief, fearful argument about the risks involved, Emilia and Sara reconcile, with this revelation deepening their bond.

On Emilia’s 14th birthday, which falls on Palm Sunday, Uncle Piotr takes her to a festival in Krasiński Square that has been set up directly next to the ghetto wall. From a Ferris wheel, Emilia glimpses the reality of life inside the ghetto while the festive crowd around her ignores the sound of gunshots coming from within the walled area.

Affected by this contrast between celebration and suffering, Emilia walks over and touches the ghetto wall, an action that solidifies her resolve to help those trapped inside. That evening, she gives Sara some of her birthday cake and demands to be included in her rescue work. Sara initially denies everything about her underground activities, but when Emilia threatens to find the underground resistance on her own, Sara reluctantly agrees to consider giving her a behind-the-scenes role in the rescue operations.

A few weeks later, Roman walks home with his stepfather, Samuel, through the ghetto streets. Samuel acknowledges that Roman must sometimes hate him for keeping the family in Warsaw instead of attempting to escape. Roman denies this accusation, and the two have an emotional conversation about their situation.

Samuel expresses his guilt about Roman’s circumstances, particularly because Roman, being the son of a Catholic father named Florian Abramczyk and being uncircumcised, could potentially have escaped the ghetto. Roman admits that he feels like he lacks the strength to continue enduring their conditions, but he reflects that he actively chose to stay with his family rather than attempt to pass as non-Jewish on the “Aryan” side of Warsaw.

Roman narrates the story of how Samuel came to be his stepfather. His Jewish mother, Maja, married the Catholic Florian against her family’s wishes, but they forgave her when Roman was born. Florian was a hard-working man, a good husband, and a good provider, but he died of stomach cancer when Roman was four. Maja and Roman soon fell into financial difficulty, and Samuel, who had been Maja’s friend since childhood, came to her rescue. The two soon fell in love and married.

Sara formally proposes that Emilia work as her apprentice, and both Truda and Mateusz approve of this arrangement. At the Warsaw Department of Social Welfare office, Emilia meets the resistance network’s leader, Matylda Mazur, who warns her to be discreet about all activities. Emilia is devastated to learn that the four Jewish children she had met in Sara’s apartment were ultimately returned to the ghetto.

Sara explains her cover story, which involves conducting daily health checks inside the ghetto as part of her official duties. She tells Emilia about a rescued child who was almost caught because he did not know Catholic prayers, highlighting the crucial preparation needed for successful rescues. Sara confirms that rumors of imminent deportations are growing stronger throughout the ghetto.

At the beginning of the Great Deportation, news of mass deportations to the Umschlagplatz reaches Sala’s factory. Roman panics upon hearing this news, but Sala makes him finish his shift before leaving. Chaim follows Roman home, understanding his friend’s terror about what he might discover.

Terrified of what he might find, Roman hesitates at his apartment door until Chaim offers to enter first and check on the family’s safety. Inside, Roman is relieved to discover that his family is safe from the initial round of deportations. The next morning, desperate to protect his loved ones, Roman asks Chaim for help. Chaim promises to get the family extra food from a soup kitchen and explore other options for helping them survive the escalating danger.