While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
Christoph begins his year of civil service at a nursing home as the personal caretaker for 28-year-old Sven. The seriously ill young man is suffering from muscular dystrophy and his nursing room has become his own little microcosm which he has been sovereignly controlling for years.