In view of her success, Stella mutated into a cynical, critic-resistant alpha woman who has banished her family to a sideline. Shortly after her 60th birthday, she has an accident and can suddenly hear what those around think of her.

Jewish aesthete Cioma, 21, does not let anyone take away his joy of life, especially not the Nazis. In 1942, he has to find new ways to make his living in Berlin and escape deportation. In the process he discovers his talent for forgery: not only with passports, but also his own identity.

The retired Chief superintendent Jakob Franck who often had to inform relatives as a "death messenger", now hopes to lead a life beyond the dead.