A retired head cashier, lonely after the death of his wife, lives in the hope of being able to move in with his son and his family after the latter builds a house. The son does not want to destroy his father's dream and conceals the fact that the family will not have enough money to build a house in the foreseeable future. When the father realizes this, he reaches into the cash register of his former company in desperation.

After the death of their father, 18-year-old Helene Raupe (“coccoon”) and her younger sister Asta come under the guardianship of the youth welfare office in East Berlin. Helene fails miserably as a fishmonger, fashion assistant and bus conductor, all jobs ordained for her by the authorities. The young woman really only “emerges” in her fantasies, where she can escape from her dull, normal life.

Magdalena and Michael have loved each other since they were children. But when the Nazis come to power, Michael rebels against the regime and is sentenced to fifteen years in a concentration camp. Magdalena, meanwhile, goes underground with the help of a friend and later immigrates to the Soviet Union. Michael, who has joined the Red Army, discovers on the way to Moscow that Magdalena is staying there. But when his plane lands, she is already on her way back to Germany. Michael hopes that one day, he and Magdalena will be reunited.

The fun-loving, 26-year-old architect Franziska Linkerhand (Simone Frost) works for a famous professor. Yet, she feels restrained by her dependence on him and longs to take risks. When her marriage falls apart, she moves to a small town for a fresh start. Franziska approaches her new life with vigor and idealism. Many of her colleagues have given in to the dictates of economic restrictions and prefabricated apartment blocks; but Franziska hangs onto her ideals and, as in her private life, is not willing to compromise…

Wolfgang is a bully, but overall he‘s not a bad guy. However, not everyone in Thuringia, where he goes to school, is sympathetic to him and his buddies. His daring adventures often go too far - up to and including stealing three bottles of liquor. Meanwhile, the new head of the boarding school knows how to use the undisputed skills of hooligans for the common good. Together with them he founds the "Cabaret of Debaucheries". With sharp jokes and music, they now pounce on slackers, slackers and drunks - and in the process slowly change for the better.

Egon Brümmer and his half-strong "boys" are an integral part of the Borkenheide Musical Club. When the manager of the clubhouse forbids them to rehearse in his rooms, Egon and his friend Paul react by hitting on the visitors to a nearby Christmas party. Both are sentenced to six months in prison without parole for assault. When Egon gets out of prison, he wants to leave his old life behind him. He tries to avoid the boys, but they don't understand his change of heart. He starts working as an unskilled laborer on a building site, just as he did before he went to prison. At a graduation ball, Egon meets Christine Lange, who wants to study medicine. Her friends call her the "eighth wonder of the world" because it would be a miracle if she were to fall in love. Egon pretends to be a construction specialist and the two dance together.

After his family moves from Potsdam to East Berlin, 15-year-old Klaus initially has difficulties at his new school, especially with the popular Heinz. With the help of class teacher Magnus, Klaus and Heinz settle their differences and become friends. When Magnus dies unexpectedly, his class is taken over by young Anne Morgenstern. Klaus and other classmates manage to overcome their initial dislike of the young teacher, but Heinz remains steadfast in his rejection and tries to force her replacement.

For the first time in their lives, Polish-Jewish twins Adam and Ida Paluch tell their incredible story of being separated at the age of three and surviving the Holocaust, growing up knowing almost nothing about each other and their family roots.