In 1961, young Hermann goes to the British hospital to get medicine for his mother. Because of this, he ends up on the wrong side when the Berlin Wall goes up and is seperated from his mother. He is adopted by a very loving couple and grows up to become a world-famous composer. As the show opens, it is 1988, and he performs his newest piece, called "A Map Without Borders" in New York. Afterwards, he tells the tale of how he was seperated from his mother to the press. He hopes someday to be able to cross into East Berlin and find his mother again.