Twelve-year-old Ede comes from a very poor family in Berlin, and he wishes for a bicycle so that he could earn more money at his job as a newspaper boy. When a group of gypsies moves to town, Ede's family and friends are upset by his friendship with Unku, a gypsy girl. When Unku steals some money, these prejudices initially seem justified, but it turns out that she only wanted to help Ede.

This film, based on Alex Wedding's book Ede and Unku, depicts children's life in the twenties and is part of a trilogy of historical children's films by director Helmut Dziuba.