American agents intent on wiping out Bolsheviks are after Roberto--an Argentine expatriate writer, inventor and Communist in Rotterdam in 1941. He runs from them with his briefcase full of his invention-- non-running silk stockings--and money he has received from the Japanese for his invention. He accidentally tumbles down a stairwell and into a whorehouse. He gives the Madame a large portion of his money and goes upstairs with Luba, one of the prostitutes, to wait out the Americans. By the time the night is over, he has fallen in love with her.