John and René are in their twenties, close friends but different enough for René to be nicknamed Thunderbird, while John remains just plain John. John feels irresistibly drawn into Thunderbird's orbit, but René isn't all flash. He actually longs to share John's plainness and quiet calm.

After librarian Isolde attempts suicide, she leaves her politician husband for a younger student with a dark past. Isolde's former husband, however, has something else in mind for the young man.