11-year-old Nina and her mother Birgit move to the countryside. But while Birgit seems to cope very well with the upheaval, the shy young girl only feels accepted when she joins a girl guide group. Nina's new teacher for Religious Education, the organizer of the group, and the parson belong to the fanatically pious "Legion Of The Holy Angels", a sect preparing its members for the final battle between demons and angels. As Birgi's behaviour doesn't conform to her daughter's ideas, Nina sacrifices a black kitten which allegedly has a bad influence on Birgit. But this only makes things worse, for Birgit eventually forbids her daughter to go to the scouts' sessions and thereby loses her trust. Nina's friend Miriam is having a hard time being accepted by the scouts and leaves them when she isn't allowed to participate in an important ceremony. Nina is faced with a difficult decision...

Vera Kemp, heiress of an industrial enterprise, lives in an apparently perfect world. While she doesn't care for big business, her husband Manfred runs the company. However, she learns about his affair with a younger woman and tries to save her marriage. During a vacation in Italy, Manfred and their son Max die in a road accident. Vera nearly despairs of her grief and, even worse, recognizes that her whole life has been a lie. Andreas Wolgast, a former employee, is the only one who supports her fight for the company and against her caballing family...