1938. While the Nazi troops march into Vienna, the lawyer Josef Bartok hastily tries to escape to the USA with his wife but is arrested by the Gestapo. Bartok remains steadfast and refuses to cooperate with the Gestapo that requires confidential information from him. Thrown into solitary confinement, Bartok is psychologically tormented for months and begins to weaken. However, when he steals an old book about chess it sets him on course to overcome the mental suffering inflicted upon him, until it becomes a dangerous obsession.

After a mid-air collision, an uncontrollable passenger plane with 90 souls on board speeds through the skies over Germany. The impact point for the inevitable plane crash is easily calculated: the center of Berlin. Now the race is on to prevent the catastrophe. Will the plane have to be shot down by fighter pilots?