Rita Vogt is a radical West German terrorist who abandons the revolution and settles in East Germany with a new identity provided by the East German secret service. She lives in constant fear of having her cover blown, which unavoidably happens after the German re-unification.

A handful of disparate people in Berlin are drawn to the same residential hotel in the drama Downhill City. Finnish musician Artsi heads to Berlin in hopes of hitting the big time; needing a place to stay, he takes a room at the Downhill City Hotel and ties to find a market for his music. Meanwhile, another Downhill Hotel resident, aspiring author Fabien, meets a former convict named Sascha who has nowhere to stay and offers to take him in. Peggy, who works at a fast-food restaurant, is unhappy with her boyfriend Hans and finally kicks him out. Peggy meets Artsi when he stops by the burger stand one day, while Hans (who ends up crashing with Sascha and Fabien) starts a new relationship of his own with Doris.

In 1903, Jan Anskath and his half-brother Martin are living in Rajgorod at the border between Russia and Prussia – Jan on the Russian, Martin on the Prussian side. Both are occasionally smuggling stuff over the border. But while Jan acts from political conviction and is smuggling illegal writings over the border, Martin is only interested in the money. That is why he does not question his shadowy client when he sneaks out refugees into Russia. But then it becomes evident that the distinguished gentleman has robbed the refugees from all of their belongings, only to turn them over to the authorities of the Czar.