London, 1934. Austrian actress Elisabeth Bergner dominated the British theatre scene, poet and director Berthold Viertel shot two successful films for Gaumont British; two great actors from the Weimar era, Conrad Veidt and Fritz Kortner, became well-known faces in English-speaking cinema and the Hungarian journalist Stefan Lorant launched the first ever continental-style illustrated magazine for the British newspaper market.

Exploring a phase in the history of Anglo-German relations during which the emigres from Hitler's Germany were making their influence felt in Britain, Daria Santini traces their presence in London from around 1933 to 1935 when these characters made their presence truly felt, all while the Nazi threat loomed on the horizon.