Journalist Jakob Goltz visits his parents at Bodenee for the first time in many years. The encounter with his hard-hearted mother Jonah tears up old wounds in Jacob, who has only sad memories of his childhood. When his wife Madlon plunges into an affair with Jonas estate manager Rudolf, Jacob's worst fears seem to be reaffirmed: All those who are close to his mother become unhappy. But Jakob does not suspect that Jonah has a sad secret in him
The Mahlström family has been traveling to Södenhagen on the Baltic Sea for 15 years. But this year everything is getting out of hand: Kurt is about to become unemployed and can no longer afford to go on vacation. His marriage to Marga is in crisis and Kurt doesn't dare tell his wife about his difficulties. Pubescent Kati is also in a bad mood because she would rather have gone to France with her friends, and she falls in love with the chaperone Dominik.
An attractive farmer's wife attends a tango course in Munich with a friend while her two grumpy husbands stay on the farm. In the city, she attracts the attention of a passionate Argentinean man who woos her and makes her dream of a different future.
