When a young German spy is sent into the town of Guernica to ensure its destruction, his mission becomes jeopardized when he falls in love with a beautiful Basque Rebel, forcing hime to choose between saving the town and revealing his betrayal to her, or remaining loyal to his country and allowing her to perish with the rest of the city.

SYNOPSIS:

On April 26, 1937, the Nazi Luftwaffe destroyed the civilian town of Guernica, Spain at the behest of the Fascist dictator Franco during the Spanish Civil War. This is the story of the German agent sent in to ensure the town’s destruction, and what he does when he realizes that there are no consequences in a city that’s doomed.

In the years leading up to WWII, Gabriel, a German spy, is sent to the Basque town of Guernica to perform reconnaissance on the

bridges and roads out of town. While undercover,

he spies the beautiful Lucia, a young nurse, and her

deaf young daughter, Perdita. A twist of fate

inexorably brings him into town, and he falls in love

with her. Torn between his duty as a soldier and his

sense of humanity, he stops reporting back to

German HQ, trying to delay the inevitable and

extend his new-found reality. This plan is foiled

when Friedrich, his Nazi SS liaison, comes into

town, fearing Gabriel has gone rogue. Friedrich

reminds Gabriel of his duty to his country,and snaps Gabriel back to reality. While in town, however, Friedrich explores a life without consequences, killing a young girl, and draws the attention of the local police. Friedrich escapes, Gabriel is blamed, and his only recourse is the truth, in which he loses the one thing he loves, Lucia, in an attempt to save her and the town. On the morning of April 26, he escapes and rushes to his Enigma Device to abort the mission, only it is too late...

He returns to town and sees the planes overhead, and as the bombs drop, he finds Lucia in her final moments before death, a casualty of the explosions. As the buildings crumble around him, the only speck of redemption comes when he sees a small, upturned wash basin scuttle across the

ash and debris. Underneath is a frightened Perdita, whom he rescues and takes out of the chaos and violence of the

falling city.

The destruction of Guernica was the first use of carpet bombing on a civilian population, and also the subject matter for Picasso’s eponymous mural.