Lower Austria in the 80s. Anna helps out in her uncle's tavern to fund her studies and meets handsome Kurt who casts an eye on her. But when the local factory closes, life in the valley changes. Anna learns that Kurt is going to marry. Then a terrible accident occurs. The film conveys the rural society's changing self-conception and outlines the conflict between staying or leaving for the city.

Madeleine Montana lives in her self-created world and in the fantasy that she is still a famous bestselling author. The taboo-free cynic has a sharp tongue against everyone and everything - including her own son Oliver. When a serial killer terrorizes Vienna, it turns out that the crimes are based on scenarios from Madeleine's books.