In post-war Germany, 16-year old Michael Berg (David Kross) has an affair with a beautiful tram conductor twice his age, Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), When Michael visits Hanna, they bathe and make love, after which he reads to her from literature. The affair continues for the summer. In the 1960s, Berg is a law student who witnesses a Nuremberg-style trial of 3 women who were guards at one of the concentration camps. While transporting women and children prisoners, almost all die in a fire. Hanna, who was the head guard, is also on trial and she is convicted for giving orders to not unlock the doors of the church where the prisoners stayed. Michael knows something that could help Hanna's case, but his evidence is never presented. During 20 years of imprisonment, Michael sends Hanna tape recordings of him reading great books, without identifying himself.