Germany, 1912. Friedrich (Richard Madden, CINDERELLA), a graduate of humble origins, takes up a clerical post in a steel factory, soon becoming the elderly owner Karl's (Alan Rickman, HARRY POTTER) private secretary and boarder. There he meets Lotte (Rebecca Hall, IRON MAN 3), Karl's reserved and beautiful young wife. Starting an illicit romance, the two young lovers dreams are dashed when Karl announces he's sending his secretary to oversee his mines in Mexico. But Lotte makes a Promise to Friedrich: when he returns in two years, she will be his no matter what. With the later outbreak of World War I prohibiting his return to Germany, Friedrich must wait eight long years before returning to Europe and finding out if the woman he pines for has kept her Promise during that brutal passage of time. With lush period detail, director Patrice Leconte's a Promise is a sumptuous testament to the enduring power of love.