Rival gangs are fighting for control of Hamburg's notorious harbor district, spreading fear and terror in the process. In the streets, houses and clubs, the thriller shows the lives of a handful of people whose fates will be decided within 24 hours.

Lennie and George are two farm workers who travel across California. They dream of a better life and hope to own their own farm one day. Both have a lovable, good-natured character, which others, but especially Lennie, find hard to believe.

A nightclub singer must flee after being involved in a crime.

The unsuccessful writer Ritchie can't stand his brother, a criminal businessman. When both fall in love with the beautiful Lilian, a dangerous game of revenge begins.

In a small Franconian town, Werner Wild enters Georg Baum's store and wants to become a baker. "I like to eat good bread" - that's all he knows how to say to the sales clerk Gisela. But under the wing of Master Baum, the newcomer quickly becomes familiar with the intricacies of bread and pastry making. Soon the loner Baum finds himself increasingly confronted with a changed economic environment.

A nurse is taken hostage by a patient pretending to be a doctor and is forced to administer to everyone.

A lawyer who survives a plane crash takes the opportunity to take a new identity and begin a new life.