A mysterious letter from her mother's estate prompts Anne to travel to the foreign homeland of her ancestors: the former northern East Prussia, which now belongs to Russia. She particularly wants to search for traces of her grandfather, who has been missing there since April 1945. In the former district town of Schlossberg, she meets the Russian teacher Valeri, who was her pen pal during school. His parents were resettled here in 1946 after fleeing and being expelled from a destroyed village near Bryansk. Together, Anne and Valeri embark on an exciting, often painful journey into the past. They are astonished to discover many parallels in the fate of their families and gradually develop deeper feelings for each other. Through the impressions and experiences during their journey, Anne finally manages to let go of the burdens of the past.