The Dewenters live in Muenster, a town in the "deep west" of Germany. On appearance, they are a happy family, but beneath the placid surface, domestic dysfunction abounds. Christian, the father, has had a long series of extramarital affairs. Lars, his son, hates him for it and has run off to Berlin right after graduation. Elaine, his sister, simply doesn't want to know about anything at all. She and her best friend Merle are teenage terrors living a rowdy night life. Andrea, novelist, wife and mother, is the only one trying to hold it all together -- until she is killed in a car accident. In the days between the accident and the funeral, the three bereaved Dewenters ride a rollercoaster of emotions. Difficult decisions need to be taken, existing relationships are put into question, new alliances formed. Christian, Lars and Elaine, each in their own way, venture to the outer boundaries of their family ties. Finally the Dewenters come to realize that a family is more than just the sum of its individuals.