In 1947, the movie's narrator, Stingo (Peter MacNicol), a young writer from the American South, travels to post-WW II Brooklyn. He is befriended by Sophie Zawistowski (Meryl Streep), a beautiful Polish immigrant, and her lover, Nathan Landau (Kevin Kline). It is clear to Stingo from the serial number tattooed into Sophie's forearm that she is no stranger to pain, as she is an Holocaust survivor.