In post-WW2 Berlin, Henny grieves for her fallen lover, Anna, killed by an Allied bomb. As she joins other women rebuilding their shattered city from its ash-grey ruins, Henny recalls happier times and finds her eye caught by a young woman in a green dress.

Ruth is too young to remember the heyday of pre-war Berlin, when the bars were full of handsome women and pretty boys, but perhaps her youthful spirit and optimism can bring Henny to hope for the future.