The contents of a black briefcase lead us into a superficially well-ordered life in West Germany in 1970, in a city that can be seen as representative of the entire country. In this briefcase: the meticulous documentation of an affair between the small business owner Hans and his secretary Monika.

Two older women catch each other's eye at their hairdresser's. One is Maya, with a tart tongue and a businesslike air; the other is the softer Charlotte who seems to smile more often. After Charlotte leaves the salon that day, both review the encounter, and memories flood them.

Through a stroke of fate, the young farmer Leachim, the doctor Biela, and Elena, a single mother, lose someone close to them. What they all have in common is their inability to accept the loss and deal with the pain.

When a 9-year-old girl discovers that her mother works as a prostitute at night, she tries to escape their morbidly symbiotic relationship in a bold move.

Karla is a breast cancer survivor who is attending a speed dating event for cancer survivors. One man after another visits her table but they all seem impossible to talk to.