The novel tells the story of the intense and complex relationship between Hans, a middle-aged novelist, and Katharina, a young woman in East Berlin during the late 1980s. Their relationship begins when they meet on a rainy day, leading to a passionate affair, despite the significant age difference and the fact that Hans is married with a son. The first part of the story depicts the initial stages of their romance, including a trip to Budapest and the challenges they face from society and their own families.
Katharina’s openness about her relationship with Hans surprises her family and friends, who are concerned about her involvement with an older, married man. Hans’s past as a Hitler Youth member and his father’s involvement with the Nazi cause are hinted at, creating complexity in the relationship. Despite these obstacles, their love deepens, and they continue their passionate affair.
Ingrid, Hans’s wife, eventually discovers the affair, leading to their separation. Hans and Katharina move into a vacant apartment, and they enjoy six months of blissful cohabitation. However, Hans eventually returns to Ingrid. Katharina gets an internship in Frankfurt, where she experiences a short-lived affair with Vadim. Her relationship with Hans becomes turbulent as he discovers her affair with Vadim, leading to controlling and abusive behavior.
Part II of the novel explores Hans’s transition into an emotionally and physically abusive partner, causing Katharina to quit her job and return to Berlin. Hans becomes increasingly controlling, reading her writings, and subjecting her to punishment during sex. Despite the alarming changes in their relationship, there is minimal intervention from her family or friends.
The couple plans a trip to Moscow, where Hans delves into communist philosophy and the concept of working for the common good. Upon returning to East Berlin, he falsely claims to have visited Frankfurt and learned about her affair with Vadim, revealing manipulative tendencies. Katharina enrolls in an art school and forms a sexual relationship with Rosa, all while still seeing Hans.
As the Berlin Wall falls and the East opens to the West, Katharina’s friends encourage her to engage in theft from the West. Hans loses his job at the radio, and Katharina grows increasingly independent, even sleeping with another schoolmate, Robert. Katharina becomes pregnant but decides to abort the child, realizing it is not Hans’s.
The novel concludes with Hans and Katharina ending their relationship abruptly, leaving the reader wondering why it finally ended. In the epilogue, set many years later, an older Katharina receives boxes with memories of her time with Hans, including information about his involvement as an undercover collaborator for the state. The story portrays a powerful relationship that evolves from romance to control and ultimately fizzles out in an unsatisfying manner, while the fall of Communism takes center stage in the second part.