Luise is a young woman who takes on a position as kitchen staff at a boarding house for school groups in the Mecklenburg lakes region. Although both she and her colleague Maria are met with genuine interest and friendship by everyone, including the local young men, Luise remains shy, closed off and unreceptive to any attempts at intimacy. She even makes a point of avoiding the schoolchildren, who arrive in late fall to board in their castle-like accommodations.
It soon appears as though a dark shadow trails her.