Autumn 1990, in a town in the picturesque country where the Elbe River enters the Baltic Sea--a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall. While eavesdropping on two elderly women visiting a cemetery, 14-year-old Benja hears about an old woman who lives alone in a mysterious villa. While exploring the villa he discovers Johanna Haupt, a 71-year-old widow who lives alone with her memories, covering her walls with newspaper clippings of all she missed during her working years, and recording every last detail of her life in a diary. Her life would seem to belong to the past, but Benja and Johanna soon strike up a friendship. When the heir of the Count who formerly owned the villa arrives to have his property appraised, he too discovers Johanna, who has been living there since 1946. Benja hopes to help Johanna find a new home, and offers to let her stay with him and his father. His generosity sets off the revelation of a secret Benja's father, a ferry driver, would prefer remained buried in the past.