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Berlin photographer Julia Sandberg has fallen in love with the charming adventurer Percy van der Walt, who has an extremely unusual job. Percy is diving for diamonds off the coast of the South African port town of Port Sheldon. Julia wants to record this exciting work, in which he penetrates to the bottom of the sea every day at great risk, in a photo book for which she has already found a publisher. But no sooner has she followed the man of her life than Percy shows a completely different side of himself: he is uncharming, selfish and at times treats her like air. He also refuses to take Julia on his boat to take photos of the diamond divers' work. Apparently, Julia was wrong about Percy - and now she is also under deadline pressure. Using angelic tongues, she persuades Hannes, who was initially a bit surly, to let him accompany him. There is a strong spark between the two - but when Percy sees her with Hannes, an ugly argument ensues. After Julia had to find out in such a drastic way that Percy and Hannes are enemy half-brothers who also fight each other professionally, their emotional chaos is perfect. The situation comes to a head when Percy is trapped by a boulder while diving and only Hannes can save the hated brother. Julia's need for adventure is covered for the time being, she just wants to leave - but Hannes' father Otto, who is not entirely innocent of the quarrel between his two sons, opens her eyes.

Berlin 1906. The Gravenhorst family are chocolate manufacturers. They live on the famous boulevard Unter den Linden.

Eifel landlady Toni Janssen and her mother Heidi are again running the copper jug in a team of two. While Heidi's pension is running at full speed, Toni wants to shift down a few gears at her newly renovated country inn. The new name "Kupferknnchen" is supposed to stand for a less ambitious concept: home-style cooking for the bar guests. However, her new chef, Sebastian Holtmann, has the highest culinary demands. He not only has a lot on the pan, but also appears extremely self-confident. Toni is astonished that Sebastian would prefer to reopen under his name. She is surprised to meet her father Kurt, who left his family 33 years ago and now lives on the street. Heidi reacts annoyed when Toni, unsuspecting, pulls in her father, whom she accidentally took in the car. And Toni could tease that she met her papa this way. Now she does not let her parents quarrel out of duty: no excuses - she wants to hear the whole story. While Kurt stands by his mistakes, Heidi is not very informative. It is true that she doesn't leave the irresponsible slacker good. But Heidi didn't do everything right either.

Eifel landlady Toni Janssen has the blues. The unexpected single life is just as depressing as the decline of the Kupferkanne restaurant without the cooking skills of her "ex". However, giving up is out of the question for her mother Heidi. When the entrepreneur, who is keen to invest, hires the gardener Ron, he surprises with charming advances. What Heidi can hardly believe at first soon puts her in a love frenzy. However, daughter Toni is not very impressed by this - she herself has kept an eye on Heidi's younger lover.

Veronika Hofer can finally breathe a sigh of relief: Ever since her scheming mother-in-law moved to Lugano, she has been in charge of the business at the family grand hotel on her own - with success. Supported by her daughter Merle and her smart son Stefan, she has made the Schwarzwaldhof one of the top addresses in the area. But the idyll does not last long: Veronika's mother, the former operetta singer Lore, has announced that she is coming. There was radio silence between the two women for 25 years. True, Veronika made repeated attempts to contact her mother. But not even after the death of Veronika's husband, Lore, who had only had her career in the USA on her mind all her life, was there for her daughter. So it's no wonder that Veronika isn't particularly happy about Lore's arrival, especially since the eccentric diva apparently wants to stay with her daughter permanently. Veronika has no idea that behind Lore's cheerful attitude, with which she playfully wraps her two grandchildren and the hotel employees around her finger, is a whole series of serious problems: the former stage star is broke, has neither a home nor health insurance, and is being pursued by creditors and suffers from a weak heart. But she doesn't find the courage to confide in her daughter - and as a result is heading straight for a catastrophe. Meanwhile, Veronika finds solace and distraction from family stress with Max Henninger, a trout farmer she hopes to hire as a new supplier for the hotel. From the first, turbulent encounter, there seems to be a very special connection between the two, and the initial friendship quickly develops into a tentative love. But the closer the two get, the more Max seems to pull away. Veronika is puzzled - until she learns that Max's wife was murdered in a robbery. Max still hasn't gotten over her death. Veronika knows that she doesn't stand a chance against the memory of someone who has died - but she doesn't want to give up on Max that easily.

After Veronika has given them her blessing, Merle and Martin, the chef at the Grand Hotel, finally want to get married. Of course, Merle's grandfather, Grandpa Albert, also comes to this festive family celebration. Since the unexpected death of his wife, the lovable senior has felt terribly lonely in Lugano and would prefer to stay permanently with his family at the Schwarzwaldhof. But although her mother Lore takes good care of Albert, who is suffering from dementia, and Merle and Stefan also promise to help care for their grandfather, Veronika is not sure whether this situation can go well in the long run. In fact, everyday stress and private worries soon have them and their children firmly under control again: Shortly after Veronika officially signed a contract with her boyfriend Max and joined his trout farm, an animal disease threatened the entire fish stock and the associated financial burden could also bring the Schwarzwaldhof into great distress. Meanwhile, there are violent jealousies between Merle and Martin because Merle is a little too comfortable with the sympathetic family doctor Dr. core understands. As if that weren't enough, son Stefan with his arrogant hotel manager attitude causes additional tensions everywhere: he wants to turn the family business into a company trimmed for efficiency and in doing so offends the veteran employees badly. They go on go-slow - and not only cause chaos in the hotel, but also trigger a serious crisis between Veronika and Stefan.

From the first day in his new parish, preacher Andreas Tabarius is late, as devoted father of four doting, motherless sons. Andreas also faces an unusual challenge: local brat Paula (10) demands 'church asylum', claiming she can't stay at home, without details. While the brothers are practically left to themselves, which the youngest take hardest, Andreas stands up to the bossy, prejudiced vestry chairwoman, finds out Paula is really worried about her family and finds a way out. He also advertises for a parish secretary, and seriously considers a most unconventional, blunt non-believer, who may however help out at home and seems to get on with the boys.

Preacher Tabarias test his Savior's parish's charity further by hiring as part-time 'vicar' ex-con Stefan Vieweger, an armed robbery ex-con who converted and studied theology in jail. Even Andreas can't help implicitly suspecting him when the mass collection goes missing. Only secretary Katharina has an alternative suspect, worse to the unbelieving father: kid son Jacob, who misses his late mother and seeks suspiciously lavish candy comfort for his brother's bickering. Firstborn Likas accepts to defer moving out as med student to help control his brothers' unruly streak, but looses his patience with the cockily rowing slobs.

*Preacher Andreas lectures unimpressed second son Thom over using is allowance to play bank, but finds the 'userer' philanthropic. Katharina finds homeless Petra Schütte at her shop and blatantly demands Andreas takes her into the rectory guest room, which he only does when his eldest sons insist. What Jacob mistakes for a miraculously weeping crucifix is alas a leaky church roof. Andreas tempts to appeal to Petra' rich sister to help out with both expensive problems, finding the key in confronting the tragic death of the sisters' 'shared' love.

Preacher Andreas Tabariusfears that second son Thomas's impish secrecy covers up an unsafe sex life, especially when his school mate girl friend Sophie Bahlers asks help with her pregnancy. It turns out the father is third classmate Dalan Celik, whose immigrant parents Sophie's lawyer parents look down upon enough to demand an abortion. Meanwhile the sons plot to get Andreas off their backs by overcoming his reluctance to date again with Thomas's teacher or the parish secretary.

Andreas's firstborn Lukas brings home his new girl friend, fellow med student Denise Heitkamp, who seems fascinated by the preacher, who is flattered but otherwise parish-concerned, yet she loses interest in Lukas. Youngest son Jacob goes in grumpy mourning mood after declaring his cuddly troll Potti is dead after Lukas accidentally sat on him. The doctor believes he needs therapy and/or another non-kin confident for the lingering trauma of mother's death. Widowed parishioner Denise Heitkamp sells off his belongings to move out of town. Andreas thinks of combining two problems into a solution.

The Tabarius family is surprised when firstborn Lukas presents his adult girl friend 'Meike' at the breakfast table. For Andreas it becomes a conscience problem when he finds she's really Jana, wife of Peter Sender, whose request he already accepted to formalize their impending divorce in church, against objections given the sacrament's divine nature, risking hierarchical sanctions. Furthermore, the break-up grounds seem dubious and another secret may change things. Jakob is devotion-inspired by a Muslim classmate.

Jacob decides his classmate's sick guinea-pig needs divine assistance, so they sneak it into the Lutheran service. When it escapes there, the vestry fears the preacher is planning 'papist' animal blessings. Andreas locks horns with Johannes, who is determined to help adopted classmate Susanna find pit about her biological mother, although the parish is legally bound to secrecy, but the rascals break into his birth registers archive. Lucas suffers more romantic deception.

The elder Tabarius sons make fun of Andreas's worrying over last-born Jacob leaving in his first overnight school trip. Katharina Marquardt's recently widowed friend Doro seeks comfort with widower Andreas and refuses to set straight the instant rumor they were intimate. Thus upsets the whole parish, enough to ask regional church president Voigt to reconsider his appointment and war veteran Werner Domkirch and his wife Sieglinde who intend to catch up with church wedding.

Johannes' faith crisis challenges Andreas, both as father and as preacher. Brothel barmaid Britta Singer's request for an adult baptism puzzles Andreas, who confronts her pimp-lover Leander Jabach, even by fist, and gets closer to parish busybody Constanze Abels.