In the year 1946 Clara finds herself in a desperate situation. As refugees from the southern German town of Marienbad, she and her brother-in-law Johann together with his four children, are provided with emergency accommodation in a small village. Hunger, poverty and the villagers’ dismissive attitude to the “refugee rabble” are not their only problems. Clara’s niece, six-year-old Heidi - it was while giving birth to her that Clara's sister died - is suffering from TB, and the only penicillin available to treat her is a from the black market. And Clara, who worked as a secretary in a dairy in Marienbad before the war, can only find one job here: she has to earn her living as an unskilled farm labourer on the Braunfels Estate.
It is here that fate reunites her with the love of her life, Martin. She left him seven years ago back in Marienbad, when her sister died, so that she could help look after the four little children. Martin is now working as an estate manager for the arrogant owner of the property, Andreas von Braunfels, who also has his eye on Clara. Soon the situation escalates…