Scuggs, the utterly unpleasant super of a Bronx tenement is driven to desperate measures by an innocent-appearing, but manipulative 11 year-old girl. Based on the graphic novel by American Master Will Eisner, Meinecke combines larger-than-life characters, borrows from the traditions of melodrama and applies a visual language derived from German Expressionists to create a haunting tale, that won particular favor with New York critics.

Left behind by his mother, an alcoholic prostitute, Georg grew up carelessly with his aunt and grandmother. As an adult he works in a department store canteen and has become an outsider due to his shape and infantile appearance.

East Friesian Otto moves to the big city Hamburg. There he gets into trouble with a loan shark and needs to find a way to impress his love interest Silvia.

Pit is in his early 20s and meets the attractive singer Caro. He wants to impress her but lacks the resources. He comes up with the idea to saw off the roof of his car and turn it into a snappy convertible.

The ex-gymnast and survival artist Emil falls in love with the prostitute Lissy. Through her he meets some criminals whom he can help thanks to his gymnastic skills. But on his rise in the criminal hierarchy, Lissy might fall by the wayside.