A research psychologist visits a peculiar asylum patient who recounts his life story. The patient warns the researcher about how obsession with the pursuit of knowledge can make one lose sight of their humanity until it is unsalvageable.

A supposedly peaceable day for the Werner family simmers with the annoyances and insecurities of each family member, finally boiling over in a public parental outburst. Emigrant father Werner Hartmann judges the strengths and flaws of his wife and daughters over the course of the day, finally boiling over in unwarranted anger when his daughter Annette makes a small mistake.

In a bridge-building reconciliation workshop between Jews and Nazi descendants, a Jewish woman and a Nazi descendant attempt to connect with each other. At the conclusion of the workshop, wounds have not been healed, but perhaps a greater understanding has been reached.

A creative writing teacher sits through a conference with one his favorite students. He takes us on a journey through the characters in the story, and in his life.

On a cold December day, parents grieve for their son who was killed in a football game. A friend of their son helps them realize their son may have hid the feelings he was too afraid to show.

After a young Jewish boy moves to Berlin with his family, he learns that his family agreed to watch a boy from the mental institution on the weekends. The two become friends, and the boy learns more about himself through meeting the other boy.

A college sophomore returns home after breaking up with a serious boyfriend, sending her parents into a flurry of worry over her listless behavior. But who is really taking care of whom?

An encounter with a little boy and his abusive mother at an airport causes an old woman to reflect upon her relationship with her children and her late, depressive, and abusive ex-husband.

A young news reporter writes about a peculiar man in his mid-50s who is impoverished and suffers from a chronic illness — but when the man is accused of lying, the news reporter must decide whether to continue reporting the ill man's story or to accept that his claims are false.

An older woman in a small town visits the scene of a recent car accident that took the life of a high school girl on her granddaughter's softball team. She is reminded of her own daughter's passing over twenty years ago. Now, the woman and her family confront their past, while the grieving softball team prepares for their upcoming tournament.