Based on the true story of an Italian journalist and his World War II experiences in the German-occupied Romanian city of Iaşi. On his way to the warfront, Curzio Malaparte is incapacitated by a severe allergy. Desperate for a cure, he seeks out Jewish doctor Josef Gruber, who he hopes will relieve the debilitating symptoms. What transpires is a series of bureaucratic entanglements as Malaparte searches in vain for the missing allergist.