Actor Ernst Stein, having abdicated from the stage in 1968 in protest of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, has long since retreated from the world around him. In a remote house encircled by an overgrown garden, he lives in a world of dreams and memories. Suddenly, in 1989, an out-of-kilter society sends forth its progeny. Young people, tramps and characters of all sorts take refuge with Stein for a short span, carrying the turmoil of the times into his house.

Jessica, a Jewish copy editor living and working in New York City, is plagued by failed blind dates with men, and decides to answer a newspaper's personal advertisement. The advertisement has been placed by 'lesbian-curious' Helen Cooper, a thirtysomething art gallerist.

As a criminal investigator of Jewish descent working in Berlin, Sara Stein was used to operating independently of everyone else. Her keen instincts and sound judgement enabled her to navigate sure-footedly through many sensitive cases. But it was not until she found herself investigating the murder of an Israeli DJ that politics and religion played such an important role in her life. Now facing new challenges as a detective in Tel Aviv, Sara continues to strive for truth and justice while dreaming of peace for her beloved new home, Israel.