Two bank robbers hold the clerks hostage and demand 3 million German marks as ransom. What the police do not realize is that the true criminal mastermind watches them from outside the bank, anticipating every move.
When Edith Howland's husband abandons her for a younger woman, leaving her with their alcoholic son and his senile uncle, she begins recording details of an imaginary, much more successful life where she has friends and grandchildren. However, this diversion soon grows unhealthy when she becomes slowly convinced that the fantasies are real.
A young actress in Cold War Berlin struggles to decide whether or not to accept a new role, working with an old leftist director in a deserted theatrehouse. Caught between her painful childhood - loss of the mother - and the confusing and instable present political and social situation, she engages with prostitutes, penniless playwrights and postmen of the split Berlin city.
When designer Robert Meering returns from vacation, he discovers the company he worked for unexpectedly went bankrupt so he decides to visit his old boss. His former employer Banninger liquidated the company and claims that all designs of Robert are his. When Robert's Porsche gets stolen by two thieves, he manages to track them down. When they tell him about 40 Porsche's in a dealer shop garage owned by Banninger things change and suddenly get very interesting.