Henriette lives alone in a luxurious old building in Wiesbaden, which she inherited from her parents. Her everyday life is just as quiet and orderly as the large rooms around her. She works as a teacher in a nearby ballet school. She regularly writes letters to a composer whom she admires but has never met personally. She spends her evenings with friends who are actually her parents' friends. A chance encounter tears Henriette out of her quiet life: She watches the deaf and mute Felix steal money in a café that was intended for the waiter. When she approaches him shortly afterwards on the train, it is the beginning of an unusual relationship full of contrasts and unspoken passion.