Youssef's niece Saida finds her boyfriend, the young doctor Hagen Hoffmann, slain in their shared apartment. Based on the victim's computer activities, the police assume that the crime was committed in a drug environment.

GDR, August 1989: Hanna and Andreas became a target of the secret police and had to give up their plans for their future studies and desired professions. Instead, they face arbitrariness, mistrust and reprisals. Their only chance for a self-determined life lies in fleeing across the Baltic Sea. Fifty kilometers of water separate them from freedom - and only a thin connecting rope around their wrists saves them from absolute loneliness.