Heinz Hoschek returns to his parents' empty flat. The mother died, and his father is in a sanatory. Hoscheck, a former bankmanager has lost his job and his marriage is broken too. In his loneliness he thinks of the better times he once had: vacation at the sea, birthday parties, school and collegetime and his engagemen…

该片是民主德国唯一一部摘夺柏林金熊奖的影片：德国士兵理查德和卡尔在一战中遭俄国人俘虏，因为成为了亲密无间的朋友。理查德经常向卡尔谈到家中的妻子安娜，通过这些故事，卡尔的脑海中已然爱上了她。当卡尔独自潜逃并来到理查德家中，安娜明知他并非自己的丈夫，并试图抵抗后者的爱，却仍旧未能阻止爱情在两人之间的滋生。不料战争结束后，理…