Set during World War II, this is the story of Bruno, a curious 9-year-old German boy whose father is a high-ranking Nazi officer. When Bruno's family moves to a house near a concentration camp (which Bruno mispronounces as “Out-With”), he notices strange things—including people wearing “striped pyjamas” behind a barbed-wire fence.
 
Bruno soon befriends Shmuel, a Jewish boy on the other side of the fence. Their unlikely friendship grows, despite the invisible and literal divide between them. As Bruno’s innocent misunderstandings of the camp’s true nature accumulate, the story builds toward a haunting and powerful conclusion.