Hamburg cab driver Axel Parschke finds himself in the Ore Mountains shortly before Christmas Eve: what begins as a lucrative job for IT analyst Jan Olsmer, who has gone blind after an accident and wants to meet his internet acquaintance Jenny Feller in the small village of Bergroda, turns into an emotional journey into a new life for the man who has been divorced for many years. With strangers who become friends along the way, such as his passenger Jan or the high school graduate Linh Ngyuen, who are picked up along the way. And then there's the car mechanic Sofia Lieberwirth, in whose workshop Axel and his cab, damaged in an accident, are involuntarily stranded. After the celebration in Mettenschicht and a Christmas Eve spent together against their will, the cards are reshuffled for everyone.

Empathy is a two-edged sword, especially for Martin. Tormented by the past, haunted by the present, the chief inspector is a brilliant investigator and, together with his team, solves the most convoluted cases. From kidnapping to hostage situations, to murder. Unable to eat or sleep until a case is solved, they all take their toll.

All his life, Michael Hartung, owner of a hopelessly debt-ridden video store, has bet on the wrong horse. When an ambitious journalist confronts him with the results of his research, everything changes for the charmingly melancholy Micha. Many years ago, as an employee of the Reichsbahn, he is said to have organized the largest mass escape in the GDR. Stasi files prove the case. He was apparently even imprisoned and then deported to an open-cast lignite mine. Seduced by a lavish salary, Micha confirms the story, although only fragments of it are true.

Katharina, Ricky, Victoria and Malou live in an assisted living group. There they have built up an anarchic utopia as an alternative to everything they reject: Parents, school, rules. With social worker Ballack as a half-hearted guardian, things go well until their “live and let live” agreement starts to falter.

The story of a friendship between two dissimilar women: On the one hand, single mother Anja, who tries to keep herself and her daughter afloat with various jobs. On the other, Isabell, who looks after her parents in need of care and whose relationship with her husband Philipp is put to the test.

As a contestant in a singing casting show, Lea is asked by the TV team who she is and what makes her special. She doesn't know and begins to slip into different roles in her search for what makes her special, developing an unexpected fascination for her aunt Kati. Kati's return home as head architect for the renovation of the Residenzschloss after many years abroad reunites the family in one place. This reunion raises the hopes of grandparents Friedrich and Christel that they can join forces to give their pension, which has few visitors, a new lease of life.