Markus is a metalworker and volunteer firefighter in his early thirties, married to his childhood sweetheart Ella, who works a few hours a week as a home help and sings in the choir. However, when Markus falls for an attractive waitress from a nearby town, their lives are turned upside down.

Melodrama is made minimal, but no less moving in a Brandenburg village, where Berlin School director Valeska Grisebach strips genre and gender for parts. Along with her nonprofessional actors, Grisebach turns a deceivingly simple tale into a wistful, genuine and beautiful love story.