1958年二战后的德国。柏林少年迈克因为患上猩红热在街角难受地呕吐。列车员汉娜正好经过帮助了他。迈克病好后特意去汉娜家感谢她，一来二去两人发生了不该发生的关系。虽然汉娜的年龄几乎可以当迈克的母亲，但迈克青春的激情让他舍不得离开汉娜。汉娜非常喜欢迈克为她朗读书籍，她听得如痴如醉，迈克也非常享受这种相处。某天车站想将汉娜调到办公室从事文秘工作，汉娜非常生气不辞而别。转眼几年过去，迈克成了学法律的一名大学生，他渐渐淡忘了汉娜。然而就在迈克即将毕业参加一次审判旁听时，他意外见到被告席的汉娜。原来汉娜曾做过纳粹集中营女看守，因为不愿暴露自己不认字的事实，汉娜莫名认下不属于她的罪行。迈克了解缘由后本可以帮汉娜辩解澄清，可转念又不想暴露过去与汉娜的关系，迈克沉默了，汉娜最后被判终身监禁。多年后迈克给汉娜邮寄他朗读的磁带，汉娜听着磁带重新燃起生活的希望，她对照磁带和书籍慢慢学会了认字和书写。汉娜开始给迈克写信，迈克心情复杂却从未回信。多年后到了汉娜出狱时间，迈克来到狱中看到已白发苍苍的汉娜心中五味杂陈。汉娜期许与迈克握手，迈克拒绝了。汉娜万念俱灰绝望自杀。

Germany after World War II in 1958. Berlin teenager Mike vomited uncomfortably on a street corner because of scarlet fever. The conductor Hannah happened to pass by to help him. After Mike recovered from his illness, he went to Hannah's house to thank her, and the two had a relationship that shouldn't have happened. Although Hannah is old enough to be Mike's mother, Mike's youthful passion makes him reluctant to leave Hannah. Hannah likes Mike reading books to her very much, she listens mesmerizingly, and Mike also enjoys this kind of company very much. One day the station wanted to transfer Hannah to the office to do secretarial work, Hannah was very angry and left without saying goodbye. A few years later, Mike became a college student studying law, and he gradually forgot about Hannah. However, when Mike was about to graduate to attend a trial, he accidentally saw Hannah in the dock. It turned out that Hannah had been a female guard in a Nazi concentration camp. Because she did not want to reveal the fact that she could not read, Hannah inexplicably confessed to a crime that did not belong to her. After Mike knew the reason, he could have defended and clarified Hannah, but he didn't want to expose his past relationship with Hannah. Mike kept silent, and Hannah was finally sentenced to life imprisonment. Many years later, Mike mailed the tapes he read aloud to Hannah. Listening to the tapes, Hannah rekindled the hope of life, and she slowly learned to recognize and write by comparing the tapes and books. Hannah starts writing to Mike, who has mixed feelings but never writes back. Many years later, when it was time for Hannah to be released from prison, Mike came to the prison and saw the gray-haired Hannah with mixed feelings in his heart. Hannah offers to shake Mike's hand, but Mike refuses. Hannah commits suicide in despair