The Hague, 1969. The unworldly Alexander falls head over heels in love with the hip, free-spirited Ellen. When she discovers that Alexander's family is hiding a dark war past, she breaks with him.
A visit to his mother gives Alexander a serious hangover, disappointed he turns away from Wera. His father Frans is now fully enjoying his nostalgia trip to Germany.
At the end of the 1930s, Frans and Wera are fighting for their love. Thirty years later, Alexander and Ellen continue to search in vain for answers to the past.
The Münninghoffs each try to get through the war unscathed in their own way. Thirty years later, Ellen and Alexander are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new member of their family.
In Ukraine, Frans is involved in a war crime. When he rebels against his officers, he is sent to a suicide squad. Ellen and Alexander experience the most difficult hours of their lives when their baby is born prematurely.
The war is nearing its end. Alexander is born during a Russian bombing raid in Poland. Many decades later, the loss of the baby threatens to drive Ellen and Alexander apart again. But the grief also brings him closer to his mother.
