When her husband kills himself after going on a killing spree at the factory where he worked, Emma "Mother" Küsters (Brigitte Mira) finds herself the sudden object of a media frenzy. But, as her husband's violent end makes the news, Mother finds that no one will listen to her -- least of all the members of her own family. Her son Ernst (Armin Meier) skips town while her money-hungry daughter Corinna (Ingrid Caven) exploits her naivety to advance her career as a singer.