In the 1770s, Swiss farmer Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi established a school for poor orphaned children in the Aargau. Up to total exhaustion he sacrificed himself for his pedagogical theories. Five years later, the project of the idealistic educator failed after bloody attacks of the French. In retrospect, the disappointed Pestalozzi experiences the last few months with "his" children.

Shortly after the end of World War II, young carpenter Achim is sent to a remote farm to do some repair work. Three women from different generations administer the farm on their own: Daughter, mother, and grandmother. There are no men around since grandmother Hanna has lost her husband in World War I, and mother Gertrud’s husband died in World War II. Although daughter Heidi is old enough to marry, she is neither engaged nor married. Thus, hardworking, yet shy Achim is the only man around.

Mechanic Hannes Blaschke and his wife Maxi, who works as a bus driver, have just become happy parents of twins. Now they have a serious transportation problem: Their Trabant is far too small for the grown family that furthermore includes two sons and a dog. Thanks to the support of a state secretary and of his brigade, Hannes acquires a Tschaika – a limousine that is normally restricted to representational purposes – for a small price. Whereas Maxi views the state carriage only as a useful means of transportation, Hannes enjoys the unusual pre-emption he is receiving for the spectacular car. Hannes, who normally is just a humble guy, starts to grate his colleagues with his new affectations. Thus, they teach him an effective lesson: They decorate the state carriage with flowers and thus bring Hannes back down to earth in a humorous way.

At the end of the 19th century, German archaeologist Professor Bohmann is searching for the remains of the legendary island Atlantis. But he is not the only one who is trailing the myth. His adversary, the British scientist Sir Grey claims to have already found Atlantis. In different masks and guises, he sets cunning traps to keep off his adversary from finding Atlantis.