Fred Mahr

Four years have passed since Alma and Dr. Kröpelin got married. The home zoo in Groß-Klückow is thriving and Alma is completely absorbed in her new role. But she still finds time to take care of things that, strictly speaking, are none of her business.

Two men and two women in a hotel.

Prague 1913: The family of newspaper publisher Alexander Reither, traditionally reunited for a New Year's dinner, moves along convoluted and secretive paths in everyday life. Granddaughter Wally is impressed by the opaque businessman Marko Gelusich. Her cousin Adrienne meets the young socialist Joseph Prokop at an illegal anarchist meeting. On a business trip to Vienna, Alexander Reither falls in love with Irene v. Claudi. Adrienne wants to move completely into Joseph Prokop's proletarian world, but her mother Kalivoda makes her a painful announcement. Joseph already has a girl. Alexander finds Irene v. Claudi in Budapest. They spend happy days in Vienna. In Prague, the printing workers go on strike. Adrienne fights alongside the workers and Robert Kalivoda. She experiences class struggle with her cousin Guido Frank. Alexander tries to introduce Irene to the family.

A retired head cashier, lonely after the death of his wife, lives in the hope of being able to move in with his son and his family after the latter builds a house. The son does not want to destroy his father's dream and conceals the fact that the family will not have enough money to build a house in the foreseeable future. When the father realizes this, he reaches into the cash register of his former company in desperation.

Heinz is a well-stocked veterinarian in Klückow and his Jana in quite firm, although not always present hands. And now - as Aunt Alma is slowly getting rid of the concern for her beloved nephew - Dr. Kröpelin finally got his chance: he makes a marriage proposal to Alma. She would not be averse if it had not been his "bloodthirsty" hobby, the hunt. A get-together on the high seat is still not a desirable prospect for Alma. But the more she refuses, the tighter Kröpelin bites into his intention to marry her anyway, whatever the cost.

Alma Krause is the proud owner of a thoroughbred French bully. Even otherwise, she nurses and harbors several two- and four-legged friends in her apartment - just as one would expect from a veterinarian's widow. Her nephew Heinz, on the other hand, is kind of beaten. Not as for the love of animals, that would fit badly to a nascent vet, but for a small animal practice, as the blessed uncle operated, he seems to have no ambitions. A future as a "Bazillenscheuche" in the cowshed would like to spare him again Aunt Alma. And she takes her appropriate action.

Letter carrier Eva is in her late twenties, unmarried and the mother of a twelve-year-old son. She falls in love with Jon, a bargeman who is unfortunately already engaged. This spurs Eva on to turn her life around. She changes jobs and changes her appearance. Her happiness seems perfect when Eva becomes pregnant...

A ship from the GDR fishing fleet is on its way home. The work is done, the hold full of fish. Captain Nipmerow could be satisfied with that, but he has a completely different problem to deal with - a matter about which he also owes the shipping company a statement.

Maria is a record saleswoman by profession. She is lucky to have a job, because the year is 1930 and a major economic crisis has hit the world, accompanied by an army of unemployed people, especially in Germany. Maria is aware of her good fortune; in order to secure it, she has to do without many things. What business owner would employ an unmarried woman with a child in times like these? When Maria became pregnant, she, like many other women, had to become "active" and do something about this "misfortune". So she seeks "help" from a female doctor, trusting in her youth and hoping for better times when family happiness could come true for her.

Kasper Mai, an export merchant and comrade with a “clean” record, discovers he is the prince of Hohenlohe-Liebenstein. His royal grandmother designates him as the heir to her estate. A private trip to her reveals that she does not want a NATO airbase built on her land. The GDR and his grandmother thus find a common interest, and a clever lawyer from the East works against other family members looking to settle their debts with the estate money.