Marianne Nentwich

Vienna, 1956. Viennese butcher Karl Bockerer goes to Hungary to buy meat. Along with his foster son and grandchild, he is caught up in the turmoil of the Hungarian revolt against the Soviet occupiers. With some luck and a great deal of cunning, Bockerer and his family manage to escape, but the Austrian border is closed - except for the bridge to Andau...

An old, rich bachelor learns that he has a granddaughter ...

In the year 1968, the “Bockerer” has decided, after many attempts, to marry his long-time widowed housekeeper, Anna. Gustl, whom he as taken in like a son after the war, will open a butchery in the Czech small town Kostelec and invites the Bockerers to spend their wedding journey with him and his Elena. The “Prague Spring”, of which everywhere is talked so much about, promises a nice honeymoon, and their friend Hatzinger is taken along on the journey as well. Soon after their arrival, the Bockerer has to realize that “Communism with a human face” is still an idle wish.

Vienna, 1947. Bockerer and his wife Binerl have survived the war, though his butcher's shop was destroyed by bombs. Karl Bockerer opens up a new establishment in the center of the city. Post-war Vienna is divided into four zones in which the Allies run things and ensure that law and order prevails. This is the story of two lovers: Gustl, just returned form a POW camp, and the Russian interpreter Elena. Bockerer becomes the patron of their love. Elena's father was executed by Stalin, and the only way she can escape a similar fate is to marry an Austrian. Bockerer "buys" a husband for Elena and, full of tricks as ever, he succeeds in pulling the wool over the Russian occupier's eyes.

Anna Haslböck, writing as Karina Norden, hires young drummer Nicolas Auer to pose as her lover and boost sales for her new book on dating younger men. Nicolas, recently dumped by a girlfriend influenced by Anna’s advice, reluctantly plays along while Anna secretly maintains a ten-year affair with industrialist Wolf Richter. As Anna and Nicolas co-host a fledgling talk show, Nicolas begins a real affair with journalist Martina Schwarz, forcing Anna to juggle contracts, jealousy, and public image. When Wolf announces plans to marry a society beauty, Anna’s world unravels - she confesses her long affair to Wolf’s wife Ilse live on air. The on-set revelations by Ilse and her partner Bodo mirror Anna’s own sacrifices. In the end, the show is a hit, Anna frees Nicolas from their PR pact, and Martina forgives him, leaving Anna to rebuild her personal and professional life.

Austrian version of the novel "12 Chairs". While on vacation with her grandfather in Vienna, Samantha learns that she's inherited something. But upon arriving in Carinthia, Grandpa and his granddaughter discover that the inheritance appears to consist of only 13 old chairs. Only after the auction do they learn that money is hidden in one of the chairs. Grandpa now tries every means possible to secretly acquire it.