In this first musical from the DEFA Studios, Gabi, a young hairdresser from the Baltic coast, desperately wants to be East Germany’s first female jockey. 

In the late 1950s, the collectivization of agriculture is in full swing in the East German village of Willshagen on the German-German border. Those in charge have to face many obstacles, especially from a large-scale farmer who is unwilling to join the co-op.

Nine-year-old Adam lives alone with his father while his mother studies out of town. He is a clever boy with an active imagination. One day, a grateful swan gives him a magic flashlight. When its rays shine on someone who is lying, the person floats up into the air!

Willi and Adelheid Busch have inherited a local newspaper from their father. But ever since the German-German border split the region, cutting off half of their former customer base, there hasn't been much to report in their now-provincial town and the paper has been struggling financially.

In 1949, superstition still thrives in the Thuringian village of Hunsdorf. Pigs keep disappearing from different farmyards and the village residents naturally blame the problem on witches.

With a train layover of one hour in Berlin, the Czech Jelinek wants to go to the fair. But as he reaches the top of the Ferris wheel it stops spinning, and he misses the train where he left all his luggage and his passport.

Soldier Ignaz Wolz returns from WWI with an immeasurable hatred of capitalist war profiteers. He decides to start his own revolution, but tries to stay away from the organized class struggle. He steals from the rich men and divides the wealth among the poor.

Party secretary and farmer Mattes is said to have inherited his family's traditional second sight. He can predict the weather, locate missing husbands, heal the sick and all sorts of other amazing things.