During the Cold War, a local Polish officer and a young Soviet woman wedded to a Soviet officer are drawn together by music.

Maria has been living in a retirement home in Vienna for almost two years, but she is far from finished with life. She tries to break up the monotonous routine with creative ideas, much to the chagrin of the prickly home manager, who wants to manage her oldies with as little stress as possible. However, the residents are grateful for any change of pace, and former bar pianist Jakob in particular loves Maria's boisterous vitality. He keeps telling her about his East Prussian homeland and his childhood friend Paul, whom he lost sight of after the war.

Jan meets Judith by accident and realizes that she is the woman who was supposed to have shot and killed his father, who worked as a security officer at the bank.

All her life, 80-year-old Margot Brunner (Rosemarie Fendel) has lived with her disabled sister Wilma (Cornelia Froboess) in the apartment of their deceased mother. The grove Wilma seizes every opportunity she gets to be a nuisance to her sister. When Margot meets artist Gregor (Matthias Habich), she finally gets the courage to tell her sister that she wants to enjoy her life and get out of the house. But Wilma does not agree with this.

To fulfil a last wish, an elegant widow accepts a ride from a modest retiree that will take them through mourning, music and new memories.

Lukas and Adam are best friends and roommates on the Hamburger Kiez. Lukas, single-minded, clever and creative, is well on the way to making a career in an advertising agency. Adam, a charming hothead, tries in vain to gain a foothold in the Hamburg film industry. He still holds on to their shared childhood dream, one day to found a film production with Lukas. Lukas, on the other hand, prefers to avoid professional collaboration with his chaotic friend.