Summer 1988: Twenty-year-old Ronni and the mid-twenties Sabine meet aboard the MS Arkona, a GDR cruise ship. She is a law student traveling in first class, while he is a simple steward. She lives in Frankfurt, while he is from Dresden. Their journey takes them through Scandinavia, along the major port cities of the Baltic Sea – with exclusively West German guests and an East German crew, with Bibles in the nightstands and the Stasi aboard.
Ronni and Sabine are soon drawn to each other, despite the vast differences in their lives. The two can only meet secretly. In the ship's laundry, they exchange thoughts on their favorite films, their worries, their secret dreams. But when their relationship is discovered, the Stasi pressures Ronni. He must make a choice – his country or love.
