Out of Step

In 1943 Hamburg, Sophie Bergmann, a Jewish teenager, finds solace and strength through swing dancing in the underground clubs of Nazi Germany. But one night, a raid led by fanatical Hitler Youth member Klaus Schmidt, shatters that refuge, forcing Sophie and her friends to flee. Just as they brace for capture, a strange, blinding light overtakes them, and they vanish from their own time.

When Sophie regains consciousness, she’s surrounded by the unfamiliar sights and sounds of modern-day Milwaukee. With her are four other teens from the club: Ruth, her best friend and fellow swing dancer; Maria, a quiet but defiant artist; Hans, who wrestles with his reluctant role in the Nazi Youth; and Klaus, who remains as fervent as ever in his radical beliefs. For Sophie, the disorientation is compounded by glimpses of a painful history that, in this new timeline, has already unfolded.

As the teens struggle to navigate modern America, Sophie is stunned by both the cultural shifts and the deep connections she begins to uncover to a family she’d never thought she’d meet. Hans, once a hesitant follower of the regime, discovers jazz clubs that challenge his beliefs, while Maria finds herself enchanted by social media, where her dance videos gain unexpected attention. Ruth takes a job in a vintage store that bridges her to both past and present, and even Klaus adapts swiftly—but for far more sinister reasons.