Using the example of three generations of a Hamburg working class family, the rise of the working class from the founding of the Wilhelmin Empire to the First World War, over the time of the Weimar Republic and National Socialism to the destruction of the Third Reich.

Elizabeth is an open-minded young person - curious and unbiased. She is sixteen, goes to secondary school and things are really going well, not least because her father, a Party member, occupies a privileged position. But then the father suddenly dies. Elizabeth feels lonely and abandoned, all the more so because her brother has long since severed all ties with his father.

A commercial artist with a lisp chooses silence, unexpectedly propelling his career. His perceived innovation leads to rapid advancement in an ad agency. Mueller-Stahl shines in this biting critique of East German workplace culture.

Kai, a young boy, living in 1923 Berlin tries to convince an American businessman that he can market his chewing gum better than anyone else in town.

A story of Victor Jara - one of the most popular singers in Chile.

Soldier Ignaz Wolz returns from WWI with an immeasurable hatred of capitalist war profiteers. He decides to start his own revolution, but tries to stay away from the organized class struggle. He steals from the rich men and divides the wealth among the poor. One day, Wolz is arrested and sentenced to life in prison; seven years later he is released due to mass protests. More than ever, it is hard for him to fit in. He severs ties with his former companions, who reject his ideas, and leaves Germany.

Inge Herold is in her mid-thirties. She is divorced and lives with her 15-year-old son. She works as a psychologist and social worker and is involved with a married man. Suddenly, Inge finds out she may have breast cancer, which would mean an operation the very next day. The 24 hours before the planned surgery puts her under enormous psychological pressure and she begins to reevaluate her life. With heightened awareness of matters of everyday life, she realizes that what she previously considered meaningful, was actually void of any real meaning.

Uwe is a chemistry student and works as an excavator driver on various construction sites at weekends. One weekend, he meets the nursery nurse Gabi. As it turns out later, they owe their encounter to the daughter of the construction site brigadier Trunzer. But it doesn't stop at this one encounter and the resulting flirtation, as the two fall in love within a very short time. On another weekend, Uwe accompanies Gabi to visit her family. When construction site brigadier Trunzer returns from vacation a few days later, he first asks Uwe where he has been during his absence, to which Uwe replies: "I was in Honolulu - bet?".