At 18, Anne Kempf is already the mother of her four-year-old son Tim. She lives alone with him because Marc Sommer, the young father, is only thinking about his own future: a first-class school leaving certificate, football and the studies he hopes to be in America. Marc's widowed father and Anne's parents prefer not to interfere in their children's affairs at all... It's not easy for Anne, her everyday chaos - triggered by irregular working hours, little money, the responsibility for a bright child and a new one Romance with Hannes - to get a grip. There are some helpers, including Mrs Glück, but rarely at the right time. Little Tim has to be left alone sometimes.
Only Katrin, Marc's older sister, knows about the problems and keeps getting involved in Anne's affairs out of concern for little Tim. After a violent argument with Anne, Katrin is dead. The Munich chief inspectors Ivo Batic and Franz Leitmayr have to fathom the circumstances that led to this death bit by bit and get caught up in a fine web of evasions, half-truths and lies - all safety nets for overwhelmed children who already have a child themselves. The inspectors have no idea that another drama is unfolding beyond their investigations.