In 1957, von Bohm (Armin Mueller-Stahl), the new head of the building authority, arrives in Coburg, a small town in Upper Bavaria. Although at first an outsider, he finally ceases his opposition to the construction plans of entrepreneur Schuckert (Mario Adorf). He marries the small-town prostitute Lola (Barbara Sukowa) although he met her under the name of Marie-Lousie and did not have a clue about her double life.