Luka, Aleks, Tasnim and Freya are a tightly-knit group. At the beginning of their long-awaited future, an unplanned act of violence drives the four to the edge of their friendship.

In September 1974, at the Bösebrücke border crossing between East and West Germany, Heike and Ulrich Molitor, along with their two little children, are caught trying to escape to the West. As a punishment the parents are presented with a terrible decision: they will be permitted to leave for West Germany with their seven-year-old son Klaus, but their two-year-old daughter Miriam must remain in East Germany and will be given up for adoption. If the Molitors refuse these conditions, they will both be imprisoned for a year—and both their children will be taken from them. This situation forms the basis for an emotional story in which various destinies in East and West intertwine, reaching a dramatic climax with the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Youth psychologist Julia Egger causes a traffic accident, seriously injuring a man, and drives away in panic. Her explanation that she was deliberately forced off the road by an SUV initially sounds unconvincing to Borchert and Dominique, especially since Julia has a history of drunk driving.

While World War One is coming to an end, the Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert is trying to maintain political stability in Berlin. In the haughty Prince Max of Baden he finds an ally who offers him government participation under his chancellorship. In the meantime, discontent with the monarchy is steadily increasing in the last days of the war, but Emperor Wilhelm II remains steadfast in his throne.

Cynical musican and one-time criminal Jockel has to lead the inclusive choir at a care facility where his life gets turned upside down.