In the Upper Franconian village of Wiesenthausen, just before the end of World War II and for years afterward, there is an unmistakable chaos. Local women eagerly await the return of their husbands or sons, while children wait for their fathers. Additionally, arriving refugees seek at least temporary shelter and try to adapt to their new surroundings. People who have been bombed out from nearby cities urgently need a new place to stay. The residents of Wiesenthausen, including the newly arrived inhabitants, experience this difficult time in various ways. At the center of it all is the local Seller family, who are anxiously waiting for their husband and father to return. The so-called "butter sandwich children," both locals and refugees, strive to cope with these fateful times, sometimes with childlike innocence but also under great deprivation, anxiously seeking their daily bread.