France, 1943. The gifted jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt is at the peak of his success. Night after night, he plays to sold-out auditoriums, thrilling audiences with his gypsy swing, a music full of joie de vivre and wit that even the German occupiers can't resist. While other Sinti are persecuted all over Europe, Django can feel safe because of his popularity - until the National Socialists want to send him on tour to Germany. Django refuses. His Parisian mistress helps him to go into hiding with his pregnant wife and mother at the Swiss border. Here he meets members of his extended family who are also on the run. He wants to get to Switzerland via Lake Geneva, but the Nazis are hot on his heels.