Julia and Marie have recently moved to Berlin and are waiting for their friend Brigitta to arrive for a visit.

After picking her up from the train station, the two roommates are very excited to show Brigitta their apartment. She is impressed, but also very tired from traveling.

After a good night's sleep and a delicious breakfast, Brigitta's friends want to take her out to see their neighborhood. They hope that they can even convince her to move there.

Brigitta finds out that her friends are having some trouble getting along as roommates and communicating about their expectations.

When Marie comes home and has a few complaints about living with Julia, it's clear to Brigitta that the two of them need to talk.

When all three friends are back at the apartment, Brigitta encourages Marie and Julia to speak about what's bothering them.

Julia met a really nice guy at a party that the three friends attended. The next day, they talk about how she should proceed.

The first segment introduces us to the main characters who, aboard the train from Munich to East Berlin on August 13, 1961, will face a difficult decision: freedom or home.

August 13, 1961: A fateful message reaches the train bound for East Berlin: The construction of the Wall has begun. The passengers now have three and a half hours to decide—home or freedom?

As the train continues its course towards Berlin, the band of musicians perform a song about yearning for freedom, which contrasts with the security checks of East Germans returning from the West.

As the train makes its way along, a reporter comes to interview Edith Salzmann, a locomotive driver. Through them, we get an impression of the roles and daily life of people in East Germany.

The news of the Berlin Wall's construction continues to spread throughout the train. Arthur and Andi finally find what they have been looking for all this time.

Elke repairs the radio in the compartment and everyone hears the news: A wall is being built through Berlin and along the state border to seal off the Soviet zone.

In the inter-zone train to East Berlin, people listen to the distressing radio reports. At the same time, we get insight into the lives of other people on this August 13, 1961 - the day when the Berlin Wall is erected and begins to separate its residents from the rest of the world.

The situation comes to a head with debates about idealism and disappointment, values of the East and the West, and freedom and control. As decisions are made, personal relationships begin to falter.