Oscar Ludmann

The late summer of 1918. Paul, Willi and Heinrich from an age-old German town are good friends, although there is a great deal that divides them. Heinrich comes from an officer's family with an army tradition and is preparing to enter cadet college. Paul's father and grandfather are workers, and Willi, left to depend on himself, works as a hotel messenger. The last year of the war is hard for everyone, but while Paul and Willi know their own minds and do not hesitate to help the war fugitives Tony and Sepp, for Heinrich everything is more complicated.

Ten-year-old Frantisek is traveling to Leipzig to visit his German friend Egon. On the train, he shares the compartment with three men. One of them, the bearded, hefty Blasius is polite but at times acts very confused. At the end station the two boys meet, but they must first of all get rid of Blasius, who lifts them up together with their luggage and carries them away. Leipzig is packed with tourists who have gathered for the famous Fair. The eccentric bearded fellow deals effectively with the traffic jam in front of the station. Blasius's fellow travelers from the train - inventors Prantl and Pirwitz, are at the fairground, boasting of their new invention and claiming it to be the greatest surprise of the entire Fair.

Dr. Grunert, electronics specialist from the GDR, gets a visit from an old acquaintance from war times. Both worked back then on navy torpedoes. His former colleague wants to poach Grunert – to Schenectady, the headquarters of the largest American electronics company. With alleged war crimes, he tries to blackmail Grunert, but quickly it becomes clear where the true criminals are sitting: In influential positions of the American industry. Grunert underestimates the scrupulousness of his opponent and invites him to a remotely located country home to clarify things. The Ministry for State Security is already on the trail of the matter and saves the engineer from a dangerous solo action.