The cleaning lady Marie-Luise, a single mother of three children and already in her thirties, decides to end her life as a gray mouse. She buys a large, sophisticated hat. With a hat, the children and a rickety Wartburg, she sets out on a journey to the FDGB holiday home, where - due to a mistake - she gets a luxury apartment. In the crowded elevator of the holiday home, she and her hat become a nuisance for the elevator operator Hans. He insults her. And she falls in love with this conceited guy of all people.