Christoph begins his year of civil service at a nursing home as the personal caretaker for 28-year-old Sven. The seriously ill young man is suffering from muscular dystrophy and his nursing room has become his own little microcosm which he has been sovereignly controlling for years.
While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.