Tilda's days are meticulously planned: studying, working the supermarket checkout, swimming, looking after her little sister Ida—and on bad days, her mother too. The three of them live in the saddest house on Fröhlichstrasse in a small town that Tilda hates. Her friends have long since left, living in Amsterdam or Berlin; only Tilda has stayed. Because someone has to be there for Ida, earn money, and bear the responsibility. There are no fathers to speak of, and her mother is an alcoholic. But one day, things start to change: Tilda is offered a PhD position in Berlin, and a future that promises freedom flickers into view. And Viktor appears, the older brother of Ivan, whom Tilda lost five years earlier. Viktor, who—just like her—always swims 22 lengths. But just when Tilda is almost beginning to believe that everything might be alright, the situation at home spirals completely out of control...