Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.

The local council of the Bavarian village of Mooskirchen has ambitious plans for the small town. Mooskirchen is to become a tourist destination, but this requires money, because at the moment there is not even an access road to the highway, let alone such "attractions" as a spa or a swimming pool. When one day a letter arrives at the town hall informing the community that Mooskirchen has received a huge inheritance, all problems seem to be solved. However, the inheritance is a huge plantation in Africa, valuable but very far away. Ferdl Lechner, the mayor of Mooskirchen, decides to travel to Africa with his friend Karl Köpfle to officially take possession of the inheritance. First of all, they go to Hamburg. The two rustic Bavarians want to enjoy life in the big city for a while, but the two provincials are not up to this kind of jungle.

A demure teacher temporarily steps into the shoes of her late grandmother, a celebrated revue singer and socialite from the turn of the century, but ultimately chooses a quiet, domestic life.

The father of young maiden Wally wants to force the girl into a marriage.

Hans is a street fruit peddler and born loser. His choice of career upsets his bourgeois family, causing him to turn to drinking and violence. After recovering from a debilitating heart attack, his business finally begins to take off. However, the more he becomes a credit to his family, the more depressed he becomes.

The children Sonja and Helmut Schmitt have lost their parents in a car accident. At first, their grandmother takes over the supervision and care of the two. When she no longer can take care of that due to her health, mayor and brewery operator Gassner provides them a new home. By doing this, he secures respect and approval in the village. What really happened isn’t suspected by anyone: The egocentric Gassner let his underage daughter drive his deregistered, medium-green old Mercedes. During that ride without a license, she caused the accident and forced her father to do an outwardly “good deed”. Because, if the truth came to light, Gassner would have to fear a defeat in the upcoming mayoral elections and damage to his reputation.

A young woman wants to know who is responsible for the death of her parents. Ten years ago, little Sonja and her brother Niki Schmitt lost their parents in a car accident. Mayor Gassner provided accommodation for the two at that time. Sonja now returns to her hometown to solve the death of her parents. She blames Mayor Gassner until she learns the whole truth.

In April 1920, the Bavarian writer Lena Christ put an end to her own life in the Munich Waldfriedhof. The film tells the story of the tragic life of this unhappy woman.

In Friedliche Tage, we enter a totalitarian and inhuman society, in which daily life is a series of nightmares and the protagonists search for a utopia of freedom and love.

Bettina Sanden, a solo dancer at the opera, falls ill with polio. The chances of a cure look rather slim.