The thirteen year old Janni is depressed, because she's still a little behind in her physical development. This leads to bullying remarks from her classmates. One day, a film crew comes to her school to find a candidate for the role of a Prince in a movie. They choose Janni, who they think is a boy. She takes on the role. At school, she tells her classmates she plays a Princess. When the moment of truth approaches she must find the self-confidence to invite the class to the premiere.

In the Jim-Crow South, Val Xavier is a bass-playing drifter who retains a wild, compassionate spirit amid neon-lit decay. Nicknamed “Snake Skin” for his animal-hide jacket, Val seeks to shed the emptiness of wealthy nightclubs and, after turning thirty, yearns for a modest, purposeful life grounded in honest work.

An idealistic teacher is shocked to discover her pupils are already cynical and opportunistic. Her colleague soon grows resentful when she uses new and challenging techniques to help her students overcome obstacles.

Berlin in the 1930s - Adolf Hitler comes to power, communists and social democrats are persecuted, books are burned and Jewish citizens are ostracized. The outwardly shiny façade of Berlin, the capital of the Reich, reveals nothing of the unequal struggle of young people against the increasing oppression...

Mira is a young, bigoted, rich and greedy auntie who makes the people around her dance to her tune. And if she ever suffers the minor ailments of old age, it is Doctor Falk, the husband of her niece Suschen, who cures her ailments. In the face of Mira's wealth, the dear relatives outdo each other in courting her aunt's favor, begrudgingly lying in wait for each other. But their greedy hopes are dashed one day when the old maid believes she has been impregnated by a guest of the Napoleonic army. This miracle prompts Auntie to sacrifice her fortune in order to secure the silence and help of the Falks.