Two strangers have a strong impact on a young man who's spending some time with his family in this drama from Germany. Seventeen-year-old Anton has been struggling to make sense of his life since his father committed suicide when Anton was attending boarding school. Anton's mother, Luiza, wants to mend her strained relationship with her son and introduce him to her boyfriend, Paul, so she arranges for them to take a vacation together.
"Hape" Wegener is an old hippie and has a lot of debts. At the cemetery he happens to meet the widow Martha Ebinghaus, who clearly comes from wealthy circles. Hape poses as a mysterious diplomat in order to gain the trust of the unstable Martha and then wants to reap financial benefits from it. Martha is fascinated by Hape and his stories and Hape's plan seems to be working.
Since the death of her husband, ex-teacher Franziska has had to look after her son David and his disabled brother Bobby on her own. Their new neighbors, Professor Maximilian and his wife Mechthild, bring a breath of fresh air into their lives.
