Hatifa is tired of her difficult fate and escapes from the place of her enslavement, a quarry in the desert. There she wanders around in freedom, but ultimately helpless, without water or food. Shortly before dying of thirst, she is saved by the sage Simsal, who is traveling with a caravan of the merchant Ganem. Hatifa quickly makes many friends, including the young servant Hodja. Only to him she confides her secret. The girl had to keep the fact that she was a slave to herself. After all, anyone who helps escaped slaves is mercilessly threatened with the death penalty. Out of consideration for the caravan, they both flee, but are soon picked up by Ganem. When he realizes that he can make a lot of money with Hatifa, he sells her again to a quarry.

Factory workers Yvonne and Evchen have their nose full of married men who appeal to them again and again in their home for a short adventure. In short, they decide to profit from this state: Evchen goes to her home with the willing men and puts her in a clear situation of which the then suddenly emerging Yvonne takes a photo. Then it says: 5000 marks or your wife learns about this failed side jump. So far, so profitable! But when the two women encounter the art hehler Domski in their bar, things get out of control...

In Frankfurt am Main, a red sports car crashes into a wall and bursts into flames along with the driver. Erika Bongert, the owner, was not in the car and is not questioned by the police. Her boyfriend is CIA agent Jack Treets, who is able to keep her out of everything. He is soon in trouble himself, as Erika puts him under pressure ... Another car races across a road, this time on the transit highway to West Berlin. Erika Bongert dies as a result. The Ministry for State Security soon realizes that the American secret service is involved.

Berlin in the early 1930s. Bello is an unemployed young man who loves the underage Frieda. In order to earn a living for both of them, Frieda goes on the streets. An inspector from the political department takes advantage of this to blackmail Bello into providing informer services. But that's not all. A jealousy murder among pimps, whose victim is a high-ranking Nazi, is blamed on the Communists, and Bello is supposed to be the key witness. He refuses. When the Nazis come to power, they reopen the case to turn the murdered man into a martyr. Bello still refuses. He now believes he is safe because Frieda is now of age. But he pays for his refusal with his life.

A day before the beginning of the Second World War, a young resident of Bydgoszcz falls in love with a German teenager.

It is the time before the First World War - in a fishing village on the Baltic Sea coast, the unusual love story of the young, ambitious lawyer Belling and the fun-loving actress Franziska begins. The young couple believes in career in the neighboring big city, would not be there the rich businessman of Elchem, who limits their love power of his money. Franziska has found an admirer and patron in the entrepreneur - a woman between two men who plays, but cleverly he makes the couple financially dependent on himself... The film adaptation of the novelle by Heinrich Mann describes the moral decay of a social layer fixed on success and money at the beginning of the 20th century.

In a remote Prussian village, the shepherd Krischan with his fantastic stories is the attraction point for the children. One day they experience together how the Müller Düker beats his horse to death and intervene. Düker sues her for body injury at the district court, and because the main accused, Krischan, lives illegally in the village without papers, the village community decides to deport him before the trial. Krischan disappears. The children feel the loss painfully, are outraged by the adults. The boys Martin and John search for Krischan on an adventurous ride and are put by the police. Krischan remains gone.

On a barren and stormy island, fishing families eke out a meager existence on what they can catch during summer, and what washes ashore during winter. But little has been washing ashore of late, and their situation worsens. Elders recall how twenty years ago, when the lighthouse keeper’s beacon went dark, a cargo ship broke apart on the cliffs. It proved a bountiful accident for the fishermen. Today people on the island view the conscientious lighthouse keepers with evil hungry eyes...

For her husband, who has become famous as an actor, Angelika is the go-to girl. For years, she stands in his shadow. The only things they do together are premiere parties and receptions. Angelika, who is becoming increasingly frustrated, finally wants a satisfying occupation with which she can gain recognition. But this is where the problems really begin for the couple.