In East Germany during the early 1980s, a talented doctor named Barbara is transferred to a rural hospital as punishment for applying for an exit visa to escape to the West. Under constant surveillance by the Stasi, Barbara maintains an icy demeanor and distances herself from her colleagues, especially Dr. André Reiser, the kind and seemingly earnest chief physician. Despite their professional collaboration, Barbara remains wary of André, suspecting him to be an informant. Her only respite comes from secretive meetings with her West German lover, Jörg, who is meticulously planning her escape.

As Barbara navigates the challenges of the hospital and the scrutiny of the state, she comes across Stella, a young female patient with a history of escape attempts from a reformatory. Barbara's medical and personal involvement with Stella becomes increasingly complicated, eliciting a sense of compassion that clashes with her determination to leave. The quiet tension between Barbara and André begins to blur professional lines as she wrestles with trust, loyalty, and the moral ambiguities of living under an oppressive regime.