In 1942, Friedrich Weimer's boxing skills get him an appointment to a National Political Academy (NaPolA) – high schools that produce Nazi elite. Over his father's objections, Friedrich enrolls. During his year in seventh column,Friedrich encounters hazing, cruelty, death, and the Nazi code. His friendship with Albrecht, the ascetic son of the area's governor, is central to this education.
Frank, a native New Yorker, inherits his ancestral estate, Castle Kostka, and returns to the Czech Republic with his daughter Maria and wife Vivien after over forty years abroad. They find the castle in gradual decay, inhabited only by the long-slumbering steward Josef, housekeeper Mrs. Tichá, and hypochondriac handyman Krása. As the staff slowly awakens from the post-revolutionary 1990s inertia, Frank’s family faces a difficult decision: sell the dilapidated property and return to America or undertake the challenge of restoring Castle Kostka.
In a small Czech town, mother dependent Robert, his attractive girlfriend Simona, histrionic Tomas and extremely reserved History freak Funes, all dissatisfied with their lives, are members of the same string Quartet. As they rehearse for their next concert, they will get into a circle of eccentric situations and misunderstandings.
