1942年的挪威,以斯帖(Sarah-Sofi e Boussnina),一名14岁的犹太女孩在她的小镇被恐怖统治时,迫使她的父母把她藏在前往瑞典的卡车上,以此保住女孩的性命安全。以斯帖的卡车却遭到纳粹袭击,她逃到森林裡遇到了一个与她同龄的男孩阿塞尔(Arthur Hakalahti)。 阿塞尔喜欢上她也将她隐藏在他家的穀仓裡。为了不让纳粹发现,她伪装成一个男孩与阿塞尔一起逃离纳粹佔领的领土到瑞典,希望父母还在等她。
May 1945: the end of the Second World War in the Tyrolean Alps. SS man Anton has deserted and been shot. On the run from his unit, he swaps his SS uniform for that of a dead Wehrmacht soldier and discovers a lonely mountain hut. Hannah, a Jewish woman, is hiding here. She takes Anton in and tends to his wounds.
But there is great mistrust between the two. Together they cope with the harsh everyday life in the remote hut. They are looked after by 16-year-old peasant girl Charlotte, whose family pays Hannah not to betray them. And at night, they hear fighting between the German troops and Italian partisans. Over time, a cautious familiarity develops between Anton and Hannah - he, who has done terrible things in the war, she, who has lost her family and has been struggling with fear and loneliness up here in the mountains for months. They grow closer. Hannah finds out that Anton was no ordinary soldier. He was in the SS, a man of conviction, at least at first. Brutal truths come to light. The war is as good as over, but what kind of future awaits them?
Georg turns up at the hut: He's been looking for Anton, hunting him down. He was the one who shot Anton - his best friend. Georg is fighting a battle that has long been hopeless, driven by hatred and the will to destroy. And he also wants to kill Hannah. High in the mountains, the decision is made.
The Deserter is a story about war and guilt, but also about helpfulness and humanity.