To escape the horror of the German front of 1945, Al, an American soldier and sole survivor of his unit, immerses himself in the memories of his New York life. Son of German immigrants and born in the US, he was not yet ten when he lost his parents and home in a fire. Turning his back on his origins, Al has no choice but to live on the streets and become a shoe shiner. With his friend Shiny, they somehow manage to survive by sticking together. He is determined to earn more money, whatever the means. But he doesn't imagine, at that point, that the war which threatens will soon give him an appointment with his past...
