Journalist Will Roczinsky is dead. He was investigating UFO sightings. A TV broadcast summarizes the events up to his death. When broadcast at the time, viewers believed to be watching a documentary instead of a teleplay.

After rehab, Manfred Burger seems to have got his alcohol addiction under control and is trying to reorganize his life. Although he is now sober, he soon realizes that society cannot cope with his illness: His relationship with his wife Eva is on its last legs and he loses his job. Nobody seems to understand Burger and his illness. As his life continues to go off track, the bottle soon becomes his daily companion again...