The film is about a projection-equipment repair mechanic named Bruno Winter (Rüdiger Vogler), who meets the depressed Robert Lander (Hanns Zischler), who has just been through a break-up with his wife, after he drives his car into a river in a half-hearted suicide attempt. Bruno allows Robert to ride with him while his clothes dry, rarely speaking while Bruno drives along the Western side of the East Germany border in a repair truck, visiting worn-out movie theaters.