The accident during an air show in Ramstein in the summer of 1988 is one of the greatest tragedies in German post-war history. Against the backdrop of the momentous collision of two aerobatic planes on "Open Day" at the American air base, this film tells the story of four families in fictionalized form - they are visitors to the air show who lost their loved ones in the horrific inferno, and an emergency doctor who cannot forget the sight of the dead and injured. They all suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Years after the disaster, they finally have the opportunity to share their experiences and come to terms with the trauma in a specially founded aftercare group. Meanwhile, a duo of investigators commissioned by the German Federal Ministry investigates the background to the air accident and uncovers massive failures in safety precautions and rescue measures. Beyond political responsibility on both the German and American sides, both come up against a wall of silence.

Primary school teacher Sabine Schuster suffers a sudden stroke during a theatre rehearsal with her pupils. Doctors are able to save her life in hospital, but the path back to everyday life is difficult and uncertain. For Sabine's husband Stefan, a forester, nothing is as it was either. While Sabine has to laboriously relearn things that are taken for granted, such as speaking or walking, in rehab, Stefan adapts the house in Ilmenau, Thuringia, to his wife's needs in the hope that the familiar surroundings will do her good. But Sabine is so disappointed by her condition that she initially resists everything that will help her recover. Out of shame, she avoids contact with her usual surroundings. She misses her work as a teacher and hiking. Seemingly lost in the mill of the care system, the new nurse Iryna, organized by Stefan, brings new hope with her very own, optimistic and demanding manner.