A young orphaned woman named Kotzebue is trying to find out who her parents are in the icy landscapes of Alaska. Kotzebue is helped by an East German librarian, whose husband was killed while fleeing from the GDR. Although both women could not be more different from each other, a fragile relationship forms.
Each 30 minute episode is dedicated to a separate issue or theme and consists mainly of related short featurettes, which explain, explore and educate how things of everyday life and even complex systems work. It spans a wide variety of topics from technology and industry to something as mundane as how the postal service works.
