Austria, 1945: Now a soldier in the U.S. Army, Freddy Wolff (Gabriel Barylli) makes his way to Vienna, tentative victor amidst the rubble. Accompanied by Sgt. Adler (Nicolas Brieger), a communist intellectual originally from Berlin, he is part of an occupying force sent to de-Nazify the wrecked city. Ever pragmatists, the Austrians see themselves as innocent victims of Nazi aggression. With the Germans vanquished, it's business as usual as former collaborators again rise to prominence. Bewildered by the erasure of so much ignominy, Freddy finds his solace in the arms of Claudia (Claudia Messner), the gorgeous daughter of a former Nazi intelligence officer. With the culmination of the trilogy, “Corti has made a film that reaches the density and emotional force of Renoir's Rules of the Game,” says critic David Thomson. “Nothing is final or settled.”