1978. In a desperate act of love, a plane is hijacked in East Germany and forced to land in the American Sector of West Berlin, triggering a Cold War crisis and forcing 60 hapless passengers to decide in minutes whether to give up everything and stay in the West...

Self-important author Leon joins his best friend on a summer holiday near the Baltic Sea to complete his novel. When they arrive, they find their house is already occupied by a carefree woman who challenges Leon to open up. Meanwhile, forest wildfires rage around them and impending disaster looms.

Holocaust survivor Edek Rothwachs fled to Melbourne as a teen and still thrives at 80, so he balks when daughter Ruth urges him to retire in Berlin. But meeting spirited Polish Zofia gives him a new purpose. He stays, sparks chaos with his boundless energy, embarks on a romance, and helps her open a restaurant, turning Ruth’s quiet plan upside down.

The relationship nightmare with horror Uschi has thrown the prickly neurotic Roland onto the psycho couch. His long-time friend and roommate Ferdinand is there to hold his hand. They both share a symbiotic dependency: Roland's financial contributions have so far saved the bohemian and his Renate from total bankruptcy, while Ferdinand has always steered his yuppie friend through his mental crises. But then they discover an old common ground that drives a wedge between the friends... The heroes are in terrific form in this wonderful mimosa duel. It's briskly told and has a few surprises in store.

While life in a provincial town in eastern Germany near the Polish border has virtually come to a standstill, a dynamic young entrepreneur, his wife, and a laconic, resigned dropout strive to make a new start. But their dreams of revitalizing the region with a train station bistro and spa business fade away in (self-)deception, hangovers, and small escapes.