影片根据西格弗里德·伦茨的中篇小说《默哀时刻》改编。波罗的海海边捕鱼小镇的夏末，十八岁的高中男生克里斯蒂安爱上了新来的英语老师斯黛拉•彼得森。懵懂澄澈的心刚刚开始描摹未来的图景，两人也在旁人的怀疑与议论中愈走愈近。就在克里斯蒂安精心计划着两人未来的时候，后者遭遇的一场船 难忽然让一切激情与浪漫消散在咸涩的海风中。在痛苦和随之而来的恐惧伴随下，少年试着寻回永远逝去的爱情。

The end of summer, a sleepy fishing port on the Baltic Sea and the beginning of a great feeling that shouldn't be: Shortly before the start of the new school year, 18-year-old Christian falls in love with his new English teacher, Stella Petersen. In a moment of unexpected lightness and freedom, in the dune and seascape far away from the small town, Stella and Christian discover a shared longing and an attraction for each other, the intensity of which both overwhelms. But soon after classes have started again, the secret relationship between the young teacher and her student threatens to turn into a scandal: Christian's parents, his classmates and the teaching staff express suspicion, concern and indignation. While Stella repeatedly eludes Christian, he is already making plans for a future together. When Stella had an accident in a sailing accident, a world collapsed for Christian.