Germany 1939: “No, please don’t make me leave you!” Sophie cries, desperately trying to hold her loved ones in her arms before she is pulled away. “I can’t leave without you, I can’t bear it…”

When Sophie Weiss boards the SS St Louis, the Nazis have taken everything from her, and her last hope is to escape. But when she meets fellow Jewish refugees Rosa, Hannah and Rachel on board, their friendship gives Sophie hope there might be happiness in her future, after all.

But when the boat is refused entry at a port they thought would be safe, the women face a terrifying return to Europe. Until word reaches the ship that a friend of her family is willing to take Sophie in—but only her. Quickly, Sophie unpicks the lining of her coat and breaks her late mother’s emerald into four parts. Handing a piece to each of her friends, the women promise to meet in Paris when this nightmare is over.

Watching the SS St Louis grow smaller on the horizon, Sophie grips her emerald with a fierce determination and whispers a promise: I will find a way to help you all, no matter what… But with her friends facing an uncertain fate, has she made a promise she can’t possibly keep?