It is the midst of the 70's in the East-German Altmark and during a speech of the mayor at the topping-out ceremony of a "Kaufhalle" (shops in East Germany) the small cottage of Mrs. Martin falls in. In the ruins the second-hand dealer Gwissen finds an old book of Friedrich Engels, and Jadup recognizes a dedication he once wrote for the girl Boel Boel Martin.
Boel had come to the town in 1945 as a refugee with her mother. Jadup and Boel became friends and he taught her how to write and read. Boel had fallen in love with him but was ashamed of the warts on her hands. A worker promised to heal them, but raped the girl in a barn.
When the deed got known, Boel didn't want to tell her tormentor's name. There was a lot of gossip in town, but Jadup did not support his friend. Boel disappeared.
Now, many years after this incidence the past recovers Jadup. He feels guilty for Boel's disappearance, has to recognize his own cowardice and begins to reflect on his life. The contradiction between his party's propaganda and the reality become more and more obvious to him, in schools, in the shops and in the character of the dogmatic administrator of the SED.
Moreover he recognizes parallels to the life of his son Max, as a girl is in love with him, who is different from the others. But Max doesn't seem to be such a coward as his father.