Dr. Kathrin Klein (Gudrun Landgrebe) is an anaesthetist in the casualty department of a Dresden hospital. She is single. Her son is a student, at present in Africa as part of an internship programme. Kathrin’s relationship with her colleague Dr. Kugler (Gunter Schoß) extends into their private lives as well. They are on their way to a concert when they get the terrible news that Kugler’s son Daniel has been in a car crash and is fighting for his life in hospital. The other man who was in the car with him, Joel Cutter (Gojko Mitic) - a foreigner who is in this country without any papers - suffered severe head injuries. When two men come to visit him in hospital he panics and tries to escape. Kathrin rescues the man and hides him in her home, but his condition rapidly deteriorates. Now she discovers from an X-ray that there is a hairline fracture of his skull which her friend Dr. Kugler apparently failed to spot - and only an immediate operation can save his life.