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The musically gifted Hermann leaves his home village in the Hunsrück region to study in the big city. After the painful end of his first love, the young man dreams of a free artistic life devoted entirely to music. Right at the beginning, he meets the beautiful cellist Clarissa, but Hermann pursues his decision to defy love with all his might.
In Juan, a Chilean, Hermann finds a friend with whom he spends his student life and makes music. But Juan is secretly in love with the cellist Clarissa. When Hermann learns that the two kissed on a train ride, and then his suitcase with all his valuables disappears, he becomes jealous and suspicious.
Evelyne, who grew up in the small town of Neuburg, arrives in Munich in search of her biological mother and immediately captivates the young musicians with her extraordinary voice. In the “Fuchsbau,” as the Schwabing villa belonging to her aunt Elisabeth Cerphal is called, she encounters the artistic circle surrounding Hermann and Juan.
Ansgar struggles to resist his parents' misguided love, who want to see him as an artistic genius. He finds stability in his relationship with Evelyne, but Olga's jealousy puts a great strain on him. Consumed by self-doubt, Ansgar drops out of medical school and starts working as a tram conductor.
Hermann, who has found a lucrative side job as a music teacher, unwittingly gets caught up in the street battles of the Schwabing riots. In view of the arbitrary police violence, Hermann uses the semester break to flee Munich and accepts an invitation from the family of his piano student to visit Sylt.
November 23, 1963, becomes a memorable day for everyone. Alex, the philosopher among the friends, finds himself completely broke and half starved and sets out in search of financial support. He takes on a role as an extra, but the filmmakers fall out. Finally, a lucky coincidence brings him the windfall he has been longing for.
It has been eleven days since Clarissa's abortion and her tendonitis has flared up again.
Schnüsschen charms Hermann with her dream of a middle-class existence and persuades him to leave student life behind. The two look for an apartment together and assure the suspicious landlords that they will soon present their marriage certificate. And so, in the summer of 1964, Hermann and Schnüsschen celebrate their wedding in the villa with the entire Schwabing bohemian crowd.
Hermann's concert is a huge success, which he wants to celebrate with Schnüsschen. For Clarissa, however, Christmas 1963 turns out to be a nightmare. Lonely and devastated, the young cellist decides to have an illegal abortion after an unwanted pregnancy, which has fatal consequences. When she is found, Clarissa is in mortal danger.
Hermann composes a requiem for the “Fuchsbau,” which has been sold by Mrs. Cerphal and is about to be demolished. Reinhard, one of the young filmmakers who has just returned from a shoot in Mexico, wants to make a film about the Cerphal family and seeks out Esther Goldbaum, the actual heir to the villa. She lives in Venice as a photographer and becomes Reinhard's lover.
After Reinhard fails to return from a boat trip during his screenplay presentation, Esther sets out with her unloved father to search for traces of her past—without success. Clarissa, who has since had a child, has also been thrown off track and has given up her career as a cellist.
The era of '68 has dawned. Clarissa has turned her back on her life as a housewife and joins a group of American musicians. Stefan ends up in Berlin for a film project, which he wants to involve everyone in. But during hours and nights of discussion, his plan slips further and further out of his grasp until it is already too late.
Consul Handschuh and his wife want to make Hermann the sole heir to their film company, but he is overwhelmed by the offer. He asks for time to think it over, but has no one to ask for advice. His circle of friends has scattered over the years. Hermann travels after Clarissa, who has found her place in the world of music again as a successful singer.
