Haunted by the memory of Walter Holderlin, a soldier he killed during World War I, French musician Paul Renard (Phillips Holmes) confesses to a priest (Frank Sheridan), who grants him absolution. Using the address on a letter he found on the dead man's body, Paul then travels to Germany to find his family. As anti-French sentiment continues to permeate Germany, Dr. Holderlin (Lionel Barrymore) initially refuses to welcome Paul into his home, but changes his mind when his son's fiancée Elsa identifies him as the man who has been leaving flowers on Walter's grave. Rather than reveal the real connection between them, Paul tells the Holderlin family he was a friend of their son, who attended the same musical conservatory he did. Although the hostile townspeople and local gossips disapprove, the Holderlins befriend Paul, who finds himself falling in love with Elsa (Nancy Carroll). When she shows Paul her former fiancé's bedroom, he becomes distraught and tells her the truth. She convinces him not to confess to Walter's parents, who have embraced him as their second son, and Paul agrees to forego easing his conscience and stays with his adopted family. Dr. Holderlin presents Walter's violin to Paul, who plays it while Elsa accompanies him on the piano. The film's original title, The Man I Killed, was changed to The Fifth Commandment to avoid giving wrong impressions in the minds of the public about the character of the story. It ultimately was released as Broken Lullaby.
故事发生在风景宜人的橘子郡,朋友的意外身亡让原本热爱冲浪的肖恩(科林·汉克斯 Colin Hanks 饰)大为震惊,因为在此之前,他的世界中从来不曾出现过这样真实而又痛苦的事情。一次偶然中,肖恩在沙地里挖出了作家马库斯(凯文·克莱恩 Kevin Kline 饰)的小说《整齐的夹克》,这本小说彻底改变了肖恩,他决定放弃冲浪转而成为一名作家。 在完成了自己的第一本小说的同时,肖恩凭借着智慧和努力获得了极好的考试成绩,他将小说寄给了马库斯,将申请材料寄往了马库斯所在的斯坦福大学。没想到,一切的努力换来的却是拒绝的回音,原来,学校将错将一名差生的成绩单当做肖恩的成绩单寄给了斯坦福。在仅剩的24小时内,肖恩必须尽自己的一切努力来纠正这个致命的错误。