In the last days of WW2, the German minesweeper MX12 is on its way into the enemy’s zone to pick up wounded soldiers. When a radio message proclaims the end of war, the crew demands to break off the risky mission. Only the captain wants to continue.

Hans Engler is a reserved man from Hamburg with no family or partner. When his acquaintance Agnes asks him to assume paternity for her daughter Martina, he cannot refuse her the favor. When Agnes dies a short time later, Hans Engler is drawn into a violent conflict with Martina's biological father, which quickly becomes life-threatening for him.