For a lifetime, Hedi Ohlsen subordinated her needs to the family. She raised a child, took care of the house and learned the unloved profession of dental assistant for the sake of her husband Johannes. And although John has left her for a younger one, Hedi still cares for her elderly mother-in-law Agnes. As this now blesses the time and Hedi finally wants to start her own life, suddenly her pregnant daughter Leonie is attacking at the door. She has quit, no money and no father for the child Hedi is to raise for her. Is the dream of late freedom back?

The parents of the silent Felix are passionate hunters. Not only in the hunting ground, but also at home they keep order with a firm hand. But can that what disturbs the peace of the forest be tamed with rules or does the parents' plan drive the whole family into gloom.

E. is abandoned by O. and wants to start a family with U. U. wants to have sex. U. doesn't want to start a family.

Germany, 1946. Hunger, rubble, returning soldiers. Charlotte is pregnant, but her beloved returnee does not want her or his child. In order to win him over and escape the impending shame, she enrolls in the "missing course" of actress Gloria Deven, who was an up-and-coming film star under Fascism and is now banned from working. But Gloria, with her merciless lessons, is not interested in reviving the coquetry of girls that became superfluous in the war. Instead, she awakens in Lotte a longing for something too long denied her: Freedom.

On a cold, wintry night, Lena shows up on the doorstep of the Rossberg family mansion. She claims her car has broken down, but her arrival is intentional. Lena is in pursuit of Anselm Rossberg, an aged Auschwitz guard who lives with his daughter, Maria. Anselm and Maria both deny Anselm's past, but Lena is determined to get him to confess, even as her own weapon is turned on her and she is forced into a moral dilemma.

13-year-old Radost lives alone with her father Bruno. But he is not like other fathers; he suffers from oligophrenia: he has roughly the mental capacity of a ten-year-old. However, this intellectual disability has not prevented Bruno from being a great father to his daughter all these years. With Radost's awakening puberty, however, the first serious problems are now becoming apparent. Radost is becoming increasingly aware of how much she is mentally superior to her father. Her responsibility, which until now has been a part of their relationship, is becoming a great burden for the young girl, who actually wants to lead the normal life of a 13-year-old.

Christa is unperturbed by her son's game: The boy is a fan of "Starship Enterprise". The two of them cheerfully communicate as Kirk and Spock. It is therefore hardly noticeable that Christa develops the first signs of paranoia, especially as deep mistrust is spreading throughout the country: the story is set in the spring of 1986, when a nuclear disaster has just occurred in Chernobyl. Christa's husband has to watch helplessly as his wife drifts into madness.

Judith is a doctor who is very committed to her profession. Aiming to become a cardiologist, she performs part of her residency in a chronically understaffed hospital emergency room. During a particularly difficult shift, she makes a mistake that causes the death of a patient. Judith is devastated and doubts whether she is suited to the profession. Her fellow doctors, including her partner Mark, advise her to just carry on as before. While Judith’s actions are investigated, she is assigned to ambulance duty. Being in a new environment and having some distance to the clinical routine allow her to see things in a new light.

In the life of TV presenter Lisa, everything revolves around her talk show, celebrities and the ratings. There is just as little room for love as there is for her mother Maria. When the 66-year-old loses her memory after a fall in her apartment and wakes up in the hospital, she can only remember that she has never been to New York and sets off immediately. Lisa goes in search of Maria with her makeup artist Fred. She struck gold on a cruise ship that was just leaving for New York. As stowaways, the three have no choice but to earn the passage. While Fred is hired as an assistant by the Greek on-board magician Costa, Lisa and Maria have to work in room service. The crossing soon takes surprising turns for mother and daughter: Maria falls in love with the charming dancer Otto, who supposedly knows her from before, and Lisa takes a liking to the widowed statistician Axel Staudach, who is traveling with his son Florian.