When her father dies, Birgit Weyhe suddenly finds herself questioning her family history for the first time. A few anecdotes and a lot of silence. When her daughter is assigned to draw a family tree for homework, the full extent of her ignorance becomes apparent - even her grandparents are just faint shadows. The author embarks on a quest for answers, but the research with the few remaining relatives raises new questions. Based on letters, conversations, and photographs, Weyhe recounts the lives of her grandparents. She tells the story of a generation born at the beginning of the 20th century, whose biographies have been significantly shaped by German history. Slowly, the life stories of the emancipated Marianne, the broken Friedrich Carl, and the couple Herta and Edgar are revealed. Like puzzle pieces, the author pieces together her knowledge about her ancestors.