Yedinitz,Romania. A young Jewish girl in love with her tutor is swept up in the 1941 Nazi invasion of Romania and endures the murder of her family, sexual slavery, betrayal, and a death march before she can reunite with her lover, join the Jewish partisans and eventually make her way to freedom.

SYNOPSIS:

Beautiful, spirited DANIELA, age 16, living in Yedinitz, Romania, dreams of becoming a doctor. But as a Jewish girl, she is barred from higher education. Her mother, who is dressmaker to the local COUNTESS KANYADI, hires her a tutor, the rebellious, brilliant MIHAIL. The two soon begin a passionate affair, abetted by PHILIPPA, the countess's mischievous British nanny. Philippa helps the young lovers arrange their secret trysts in the groom’s quarters on the Count's estate.

When the Nazis invade Romania in July 1941, Mihail joins the partisans. The Count and Countess beg Daniela to flee to London with them, but she remains with her parents and brother—who are murdered within days. Alone, Daniela is sent east on the notorious Transnistrian Death March, where Jews are murdered and robbed on their way to oblivion.

When Daniela catches the eye of Romanian Iron Guard commander, Major Dragulescu, he forces her to be his concubine, sending her to nurse Romanian solders as the battle of Stalingrad rages. The Romanians, Hitler's allies, are pulverized by the Red Army but Daniela remains a hostage.

One night Mihail appears on a mission to assassinate two key Nazis visiting the major. They are associates of Eichmann, who is trying to ship Romania's surviving Jews to Auschwitz before Romania makes a separate peace with the Allies. Daniela leads the partisans into headquarters through a secret entrance.

In a pitched battle, they kill the two Nazis and Major Dragulescu, but Mihail also dies. Devastated, Daniela escapes with the partisans, who train her in sabotage. She throws herself into living on the run behind enemy lines, drawing courage from memories of Mihail and her family. When the partisans link up with the Red Army to attack German garrisons near the Ploesti oilfields, over 50,000 German prisoners are captured.

After the war, Daniela enters a Displaced Persons (DP) camp, where a friend of Count Kanyadi recognizes her. He gets a message to London, and they arrange transport for Daniela.

The Count's luxurious townhouse seems like paradise, but Daniela only misses Mihail. Working as a nurse’s aide, she meets and marries brash American pilot ZIGGY BLOMBERG. In America, Ziggy grows wealthy as a building contractor, but his beautiful young wife remains haunted by her wartime experiences.

THE DRESSMAKER'S DAUGHTER