In 1957 Berlin, Renate, Angelika, and Karin have known one another since they were children. Renate has the idea that the three of them should accept New Zealand's invitation to young German women to emigrate and find a new home abroad. Whereas Karin is mostly interested in adventure and Angelika wants to escape her past as a prostitute, Renate hopes to finally locate her father, who emigrated to New Zealand 20 years earlier. She is encouraged in this by charismatic Maori pilot Marc who, however, after his business trip is over, leaves Berlin without saying good-bye. At first, the three are rather disappointed because they have nothing like the kind of freedom they had craved. Together with other immigrants they have been housed in a former army barracks and must work in a textile factory. But then, Karin gets a job with a fashion designer. In the course of her search for her father, Renate gets to know attractive farmer Keith and accepts his offer to live and work on his farm. And Angelika, who is pregnant, unexpectedly finds what she believes to be true love with Adrian, the textile factory's junior partner, but when a jealous secretary in the factory tells him about her condition, he feels hurt and drops her and she's threatened with deportation. At the very last moment, Adrian realizes how much he loves her and asks her to marry him. Renate discovers that Keith is a good friend of Marc and they accidentally meet again. Although she likes Keith very much, she's in love with Marc and the men's friendship is put to a hard test. Renate leaves Keith's farm and is taken in by newlywed Angelika, whose happiness is short-lived: she goes into early labour and, although the baby can be saved, she dies in Adrian's arms. Karin has come to realise that she will never feel at home in New Zealand and returns to Berlin. In the meantime, Renate has found out that her father is dead. She is the only one of the three to find happiness in New Zealand: she and Marc renovate her father's house and begin a new life.