End of the war in 1945, the Red Army marches into Rostock. As "gold" as the title suggests in family jargon, the Kempowskis must not have had it that way at all. One experiences misery, hunger, looting, and violence either firsthand or through neighbors and friends. But they are not bombed out and still have some money left. Amidst the rubble and curfews, the black market and panic buying, they try to restore civil continuity after the catastrophe.