Four Berliners in the fight against turbo capitalism. A hopeless battle - but in the end, there's nothing good unless you do it. Frank, Kurt, Josef and Hart - the four men in their forties have not exactly been spoiled by life. All that remains of their lofty goals (from acting star to university professor) is Hartz IV pragmatism. But when they learn that the Swabian investor Dr. Siebold wants to demolish their former kindergarten in Prenzlauer Berg and build luxury townhouses on the site, their fighting spirit awakens once again. They set to work with the courage of the desperate - and initially fail all along the line. None of their plans succeed - but in the end they all lead to a happy ending.

Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, the story advances the theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford who penned Shakespeare's plays.