Nicolas is in his twenties. He is the oldest son of a wealthy family ruled by his mother, a formidable businesswoman. He spends his days in the nearby city, far removed from his own background, where he works as a cleaner and dishwasher in a bistro. He is also a bit of an alcoholic like his father, whose only function in the family is to father children (the family is big). His friends are hooligans, homeless, or simple folk from the neighborhood where he spends most of his time.

Since the arrival of coach Fredi Cortesi at the SC Biel, this ice hockey team from the province has become quite successful. But then Cortesi’s body turns up in the team’s changing room and in his locker the police discover a stash of cocaine. Was Cortesi killed because of his drug past or is his death related to the recent success of his team?

Adriana, mother superior of a Capuchin order, appears to be a woman guided by a strong religious faith. Her life consists of prayers, silence, and solitude. However, as the renovation of the old convent gets under way, Adriana’s world is turned upside down...

Marianne Brunner, a thirty-nine-year old houswife, lives with her husband Paul (45) and their daughter Yvonne (11) in a middle-class neighbourhood in Switzerland. They live the ordinary lives of ordinary people until Marianne wins 2.9 million Swiss francs in the Swiss lottery. She would like to keep her windfall secret from friends and neighbors but cannot resist the temptations of her newfound wealth. News of her lucky break spreads through the neighborhood like a swelling cancer and soon everyone is caught in a diabolical circle of illusions, envy and malice.

Christian Aellig (37), a successful lawyer in Bern, returns to his native “Oeschenen” for the funeral of his mother. He finds the small village in a state of intense agitation because rumor has it that his mother - a long time patient with an incurable disease - was killed by her husband, Peter Aellig (63). After a difficult reunion with his father, with whom he had broken by leaving "Oeschenen" at the age of twenty, Christian agrees to defend the old man in court. The village people regard Christian, the man from the city, with suspicion.

Ronnie Vandella is the owner of a frozen food company in a sleepy village in Moselle. His feelings seem to be as frozen as his products. Living under the thumb of a domineering and man-hungry mother, Ronnie’s days are determined by daydreams, lonely-hearts ads, the band of the volunteer fire brigade and his weekly visits to Mama Vandella, a slightly whacky ex-stewardess. He really only comes alive when he discusses air guitar playing and vinyl records with his old friend Lars, an aging rocker and cynic to boot. Then, one day a marvellous being arrives in the village.

At the center of this black comedy is Ruth, who runs the post office in a small Swiss village. Ruth is actually quite content with her life and her position in the village, as long as she ignores what happened to her ten years earlier, when Karolin, her «best friend», cruelly stole and married Raphael, the love of Ruth’s life. After Raphael’s untimely death, widow Karolin moves back to the village where she shamelessly exploits the old friendship by extracting all kinds of favors from Ruth. Hoping to find a new man, Karolin soon places an ad in the paper.

Twentyfour years old Meikel Willer is forced to leave his best friend Björn on the Maledives because freedom-loving Björn has decided not to return back to everyday life. Back home, Meikel realises that something must have happened while he was away. But his family doesn’t communicate about it. Meikel, who always wanted to fulfill his parent’s expectations, feels more and more like a misfit. Especially his father, who had always favored him, treats him inexplicably hostile. They advise him not to bring back Björn.

Vincenzo is fifty and he has worked in a steel mill near Naples for over thirty years. He is a maintenance specialist for the mill’s highly sophisticated technical equipment. The mill is closed now and a group of Chinese technicians, lead by Mr. Chong, has come to purchase and dismantle the factory and transfer the equipment to China. Vincenzo is supposed to explain the machine blueprints to the buyers but when he refuses to demonstrate the casting ladle to them – he considers it defective and responsible for the death of a worker – he is fired.