Since the death of her husband, Juliane Willbrandt (Thekla Carola Wied) leads a lonely and empty life. So she decides to return to her former profession as a librarian. But the only opening she can find is a job as librarian in a men’s prison. After she convinces the prison warden Maximilian Schober (Michael Greiling) and the prison psychologist (Hans Peter Hallwachs) that she can do the job, she meets more opposition from her daughter Karoline (Mariella Ahrens). Gradually, with an iron will, she manages to reopen the neglected library and even wins an old school friend Harry Rowohlt to give a reading. She also
fosters good relations with the prisoners, enough to awaken the attention of the reserved and artistically gifted Albert Tieck (Helmut Griem). Juliane’s warmth
helps Albert to face his guilt as the reason for his wife’s death in a house fire. The couple draw closer to each other …