Master painter Hans Moll and his wife, the television announcer Ms. Wellinek and her husband, and the German-Russian Jew Yevgenia have many things to live on: food, drink, an apartment. What they do not have is work. They all discover the yearning for a chance to start all over again and bring themselves back to life.

Psychotherapist Ulf Weiß and his girlfriend Sarah Gievenbeck want to get married. They go to Sarah's parents' house for a weekend. Sarah's father, Heinrich Gievenbeck, a judge at Münster District Court, is extremely pedantic and keeps a close eye on his daughter's well-being. So this weekend he wants to test whether Ulf really is the right man for Sarah. At first Ulf and Sarah have to sleep in separate rooms, and the next morning Heinrich asks Ulf to come hunting with him at the crack of dawn. Ulf does Heinrich the favor. But he accidentally shoots Heinrich's beloved dog instead of the stag.