In 1943, while the Allies are bombing Berlin and the Gestapo is purging the capital of Jews, a dangerous love affair blossoms between two women. One of them, Lilly Wust (Juliane Köhler), married and the mother of four sons, enjoys the privileges of her stature as an exemplar of Nazi motherhood. For Lily, this affair will be the most decisive experience of her life. The other woman is Felice Schragenheim (Maria Schrader), a beautiful Jewish woman, who works for a Nazi newspaper under a false name, feeding what she learns to underground resistance leaders.

Their love fuels Felice with the hope that she will survive. A half-century later, Lilly Wust told her incredible story to writer Erica Fischer, and the book, Aimée & Jaguar immediately became a bestseller. Max Färberböck's debut film, based on Fischer's book, is the true story of this passionate, forbidden love affair.

The film was nominated for a 1999 Golden Globe Award and was Germany's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Both lead actresses received Silver Bears at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival .