A woman inexplicably finds herself cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the countryside. Accompanied by her loyal dog Lynx, she becomes immersed in a world untouched by civilization and ruled by the laws of nature.
Adele Spitzeder, an actress of medium talent, finds the role of her life as a dazzling financial genius, but in truth the operator of a gigantic pyramid scheme. With a brilliant appearance and empty promises, she serves the hopes and greed of her fellow human beings with virtuosity. With the help of a never-ending stream of money, she buys her way out of situations that would have landed others in prison long ago. Her enemies are just waiting for the pyramid to collapse and bury Adele - and countless small investors with her.
Brand, an author, who falls in love with Angela, his terminally ill wife's nurse and blunders into a dangerous spiral of passion and jealousy. A vindictive husband, an insistent chief inspector, a farsighted priest and a proud wife entrap Brand in a maelstrom of persecution, destruction and obliteration which can only end in life or death. It's a quest for redemption, the force which drives us all.
A killer for the Russian Mafia in Vienna wants to retire and write a book about his passion - cooking. The mafia godfather suspects treason.
Vienna, in the 1930s. The attractive and famous writer Albert Rank receives the letter from a stranger. He discovers that she devoted her entire life to her boundless love. In her letter, Rose looks back on a variety of meetings with Albert: Since childhood, she is slavishly in love with him and she never got away from her throughout her life. In many encounters Rank could not recognize them, even if the shared moments had been wonderful. As an adult woman, Rose's love is too painful to go on, and she has dire consequences.
Bobby Kustermann is a young man with Down syndrome who lives in a loving family until his mother dies unexpectedly, leaving a hefty heritage. There is a dispute between Bobby's two siblings, Nanni and Johannes, as to whom could give Bobby a better home. Nanni and her husband Klaus would offer a “normal” family environment, but Klaus is only after the money. Johannes really wants to take care of Bobby and give him a home for the future. The problem is he is gay and lives with his partner Marc. The responsible offices don't like that at all. Only when the matter goes to court, do the parties to the dispute realize that this is mainly about Bobby's will and that he can actually best decide who he would like to live with in the future.
Austria in the last years of the monarchy: Wilhelm Kasda, Lieutenant of the Infantry, lives the life of a young officer. These include small, irrelevant affairs like those with Steffi. Steffi is a simple young woman. Kasda does not realize that her devotion is real love. After a night at the hotel, Kasda gives her a bill and disappears. A few years later, in June 1914, Kasda was visited by a former comrade, Lieutenant von Bogner. He had to resign years ago for gambling debts, is now married, works as a cashier in an office and has embezzled money.
Freddy, a Viennese Jew who emigrated to New York after Hitler's invasion, and Adler, a left-wing intellectual originally from Berlin, return to Austria in 1944 as soldiers in the U.S. Army. Freddy falls in love with the daughter of a Nazi, and Adler attempts to go over to the Communist Zone. But with the advent of the Cold War and continuing anti-semitism, the idealism of both characters is shattered as they find themselves surrounded by cynicism, opportunism, and universal self-deception.
Stingo, a young writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. As he becomes friendly with Sophie and her lover Nathan, he learns that she is a Holocaust survivor. Flashbacks reveal her harrowing story, from pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz. In the present, Sophie and Nathan's relationship increasingly unravels as Stingo grows closer to Sophie and Nathan's fragile mental state becomes ever more apparent.