After the fall of the Berlin wall, Veit (Mücke) and his friend Tom (Schweighöfer) decide to fly to San Francisco. Veit claims that he wants to travel to San Francisco because of the Golden Gate Bridge. Arriving to New York Tom learns the real reason for Veit's desire to travel to San Francisco: Veit's goal above all else is to see his father again, who 12 years ago fled from the GDR and whose only sign of life is an annual birthday postcard. Because the remaining money they decide to travel further by hitch-hiking.
