Ekke and Karsten are newcomers to the shipyard. Paddy claims to have heard it on Rügen radio. But the two did not fall on their heads, even if they still fear that their accommodation, the "Fritz Heckert" accommodation ship, could be - as it is called - a "working-class monastery". Not only do they find out from Paddy that such worries are unfounded, they experience it for themselves.

While working in an Algerian hospital on the edge of the Sahara, a young GDR doctor gains the trust of the locals in his fight against insidious diseases. His wife, however, does not share his sacrifice and professional ethos at this place of work.

Teacher Ines and journalist Boris have been happily married for 14 years. But Ines suffers from her childlessness. Then she is confronted with a chapter of her life that has displaced her for many years: In a new student she recognizes her daughter, who she had released after adoption for adoption. Since Boris knows nothing about it, Ines can only trust her best friend Simone. Against her advice, she also seeks in private the proximity to the unsuspecting student. In doing so, she finds herself in a conflict between her responsibility as a teacher and her growing motherly feelings.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was the author of Werther, the romantic novel that was transformed into a play during Goethe's lifetime and which initiated the whole German romantic movement. The book's story tells of young love and suicide. In this East German film, based on a book by Thomas Mann, Lotte (Lilli Palmer) was the woman who served as the model for the heroine in the novel Werther. She comes to Goethe's hometown for a visit, and her experiences there eerily re-create episodes from the book. Goethe comes across as a pompous old bore, and his friends as pandering sycophants, in this very proper communist party-sponsored, anti-heroic movie.

Detlev, a single insurance clerk in his 30s, is kept dependent by his loving and caring mother and loses his girlfriend Karin as a result. Grief and an alcoholic chance acquaintance prompt him to place an ad for marriage. Detlev gets caught up in a whirlwind of friendships and love affairs: with the caring widow Karin; the well-to-do hair salon owner Ute Schöbel; the cultural editor Norma Goldbach, the photo reporter Kerstin and the student Andrea Binz. Detlev, who initially proves himself as a friend and advisor, but also as a lover, becomes increasingly self-confident. He is also successful in his work and finally emancipates himself from his mother. Although he loses "his" women in a turbulent odyssey, Detlev has transformed himself from a mama's boy into a thoroughly acceptable man.

During a training flight, the experienced MiG fighter pilot Major Klaus Kornhod almost crashes. An investigation into the incident reveals that Kornhold is no longer allowed to fly MiGs for health reasons. A heavy blow for the passionate aviator, who had been in the service for 15 years. He decides to start retraining as a helicopter pilot.

After a series of career setbacks, a young man tries his hand at working as a sexworker, only to discover that this job has its own set of challenges. When he falls in love with a college student, making a living becomes even harder for him, because at first he doesn’t realize that the woman he loves works in the same line of business.