"Lila, Lila" is the film version of Martin Suter’s best-selling novel. Germany during the 1950s: David, a young and plain waiter is secretly in love with beautiful Marie, but he is too shy to make the first move. To finally draw her interest, he gives her a manuscript of a novel to read. The copy appeals to Marie and she immediately decides to pass it on to a publishing company. And as a matter of fact, the novel with the title "Lila, Lila" turns out to be a sales success. The only problem is that David has not written the novel himself but had found the copy in a rag shop. And the real writer, an over-the-hill tramp, soon turns up and starts to blackmail the impostor.