A man thinks he's found a cheap thrill, but discovers it's thrown him into a world of danger in this steamy drama. A filmmaker (Nero Campbell) who has moved into a new home discovers to his pleasant surprise that his next door neighbor is a beautiful woman (Amber Smith) who isn't inclined to keep her shades drawn. However, one night while watching her, he unwittingly becomes a witness to a murder, and soon the police have named the director as the prime suspect.

Lifelong hard work for the count makes the servant Anton a cripple. Everybody calls him Crooked Anton. When, after the end of the war, the land of the count gets divided amongst the farmers, Anton receives a piece and hopes to be able to work freely. But an old debt and intrigue keep Anton and his family from finding peace. The farmers of the village begin to discover their own power when Annegret, Anton's daughter, leaves. Is a new beginning possible for Anton? This film paints an impressive panorama of the development of a minor village in Mecklenburg from the end of the war to the uprising of 17 June 1953.

A socialist story of "atoms for peace" and compulsory labor in an East German uranium mine under Soviet control.