In the worst crisis of his life, widower Franz Schuster finds out he has cancer and definitively gives up. Neither is his daughter able to get through to him. In hospital, he gets to know retired doctor Peter Arndt, who tries to show him the right way. At the lowest point of his life, Schuster gets to know and love Erika Frecher. Together they attempt to master their lives, and it is not the length of time, but the manner in which they will live, which opens up their avenue of hope.