The shorter the better. That's what Andrea thinks when she gives her mother Helga a trip to Verona for her 75th birthday. A champagne reception, a visit to the opera and a nightcap - all precisely timed in 24 hours. Andrea fears that things won't go well between mother and daughter any longer. Unfortunately, the super-compact short vacation is under an unfavorable star: First, Andrea's brother Martin cancels at the last second, then all return flights are canceled due to a cloud of ash and, appropriately, the bus and train drivers across the country go on strike. Now what Andrea really wanted to avoid happens: she has to spend time all alone with her mother. However, not in a relaxed holiday environment, but on an adventurous return journey to Germany. Because something went wrong at work and Andrea is urgently expected in Hamburg to save a major order. On the way, the old mechanisms in the difficult relationship take hold: no matter what Helga does to help her daughter, Andrea dislikes it. While the elderly woman, who quickly "borrows" a car, is getting cooler and cooler, Andrea's nerves are on edge. With the Carabinieri on their heels, we head towards the Brenner Pass.

Vacation with Mom

Adult son Oliver lives with has been-crime author Madeleine Montana, who still imagines being a bestseller celebrity and cynically bitches to everyone, even him. A serial killer terrorizes their home town Vienna by actually performing some of the most gruesome murders from Madeleine's books, which she tells the police, enjoying renewed attention. Commissioner in charge Bäumer and assisting inspector Flo duly fear new strikes. The key is in her and Oliver's past.