In south-west Germany in 1951, the American military finds a new home in the town of Kaltenstein, which proves to be a blessing for the mayor and his daughter, but a curse for a farming family.

Freedom spreads throughout Kaltenstein; Marie starts working at the army base and finds herself falling for George, who deals with racist hostility from his peers; Erika takes advantage of her new liberation.

Trouble brews when the mayor's son Siegfried, who was thought lost during the war, unexpectedly returns and is ready to marry his fiancé Marie.

Prostitution and moral decay alarm the priest and the mayor's wife; Erika faces a difficult decision; Marie rejects George and plans to marry Siegfried.

Marie distances herself from Erika, choosing to be with George and go her own way; Erika deals with news from the doctor; Mayor Strumm's dark past comes to light.