Anabel (Lisa Martinek) apparently has everything a woman could want: a well-paid husband Dirk (Tim Bergmann), a nice apartment, good friends and an antique shop to keep her busy. The only thing missing is a child, but she can't have one because she accidentally finds out that her husband is sterile. She keeps her husband in the dark about her discovery of his shortcoming, who on the contrary assumes Anabel is incapable of conceiving. One day her pragmatic friend Lissi (Antje Schmidt) comes up with the idea that Anabel could get impregnated by another man and lie to her husband about the paternity of the child.
Germanus, a brave gladiator, witnesses the brutal murder of his brother, committed by another fighter. Since then, he will become his worst enemy, with whom he will fight in several fights, each more bitter. One day, Germanus discovers that his sister, also gladiator, maintains a passionate affair with the man who killed the brother of both, without her knowing anything about the crime
David, a recently fired scrapyard worker and Marie, a prostitute, both about 20 years old, meet on New Year's Eve in Berlin and decide to run away together. As David's arm is plastered from an accident Marie continues to prostitute herself to finance their restless journey through the Ruhr area. Their love and their will to survive guide them though all problems.
