Princess Elisabeth, the beautiful only child of a widowed queen is sent off to marry the prince Leopold to whom she is betrothed. Before she leaves, her mother presents her with a small token. This token provides her with magical protection. However, the maidservant Magdalena, who accompanies the princess treats her very brutishly, and when circumstances cause the princess to lose her token, the maid seizes the opportunity to force the princess into trading places. She makes the princess switch clothes with her.

In the loneliness of the Lower Havel lowlands, one of the last bird paradise in Germany, twelve-year-old Lea lives alone with her father Lutz, a passionate environmentalist. She is on the cusp of adulthood, confronted with the challenges of the present and the pains of the past. She often feels lonely in the childhood-remote world in which she lives, in which schools are closed and people leave. Even the father, who has withdrawn from the world, is increasingly becoming a problem for Lea, who longs for fellowship.