Ada Philine Stappenbeck

A strange family: 17-year-old Phil lives with his mother and twin sister in an old mansion on the outskirts of town. When he returns from summer camp, the mood in the mansion has soured somehow. Phil doesn’t worry about it, hanging out with his best friend Kat instead. When he starts to feel attracted to a mysterious new student at school, Phil is plunged into emotional turmoil only exacerbated by the trouble at home.

Somewhere in the majestic Chinese highlands of our days: The Pandas' survival is severely endangered as the bamboo is becoming scarce, and humans continuously expand into their habitat. And laziness being one of the Pandas' most significant character traits, what the community now requires is someone to rouse them. Manchu, with the help of his friends, stands up to all the trials. The group has nearly reached their destination when suddenly the humans unleash the floods of their newly-built dam, aimed at the Pandas' valley!

The ambitious scientist Franz Walter doesn't hesitate when he is promised a professorship at the university. He immediately accepts, pledges absolute loyalty to the system and agrees to work for the GDR's foreign intelligence service until he can take up his new position. Together with his colleague Dirk, he is sent on foreign assignments to West Germany. Franz soon has to use blackmail to get innocent people to talk. But his superiors go even further: GDR refugees and their relatives are targeted to be psychologically destroyed, forged letters, medical diagnoses, surveillance and wiretapping are on the agenda. However, this is more than Franz can bear: he feels powerless and increasingly isolates himself. When he then decides to steal secret documents for a later defection to the West, this results in an unfortunate chain reaction leading to his arrest and ultimately to his execution...

Armin, in his fourties, is a freelancer with lots of time and little money. He’s not really happy, but can’t picture living a different life. One morning the world looks the same as always, but mankind has disappeared.

Four troubled friends who despite the feeling that they live standardized lives share a flat under the sceptical looks of their neighbours.