Lisette, a young woman from Hamburg, emigrates to Zurich in the summer of 1934 for political reasons, where she finds work and accommodation at the Pension Comi. This establishment is run by the Russian-Jewish couple Paksmann, who themselves fled and feel a strong connection to the ever-increasing number of arriving refugees. Among the residents is Nissim Nachtgeist, a law student from Germany who dreams of becoming an actor and now illegally sews Swiss professional coats. Also living here are Signora Teresa with her bright red hair, a Jewish woman expelled from the Communist Party, Senior Government Councillor Eiser, who perceives everyone who arrives after him as a personal threat, and Vicky, "an eighth Jew" from the Rhineland, who treats the ladies of the pension to beauty care on Saturdays. The Pension Comi actually existed, and Lotte Schwarz tells the story.