Regener's prequel Neue Vahr Süd (published in 2004) tells of Frank Lehmann's life in the year 1980, especially his time in the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) while the middle part of the trilogy Der kleine Bruder (the little brother) (published 2008) tells of two days in November 1980, when Frank Lehmann arrives at Berlin and tries to find his older brother Manfred who lives as an artist in Berlin Kreuzberg.

Shortly before dawn on a Sunday morning, Herr Lehmann is walking home from work, drunk, and comes across a dog that is blocking his path.

In the morning, Herr Lehmann is woken by a phone call from his mother, who announces that she and his father are coming to visit him in Berlin.

Hungover and unexcited about the upcoming visit, Herr Lehmann makes his way to a nearby pub and meets Karl, his best friend.

The narrative remains narrowly focused on Herr Lehmann and his everyday life, ignoring the external historical and political situation as much as possible.

Herr Lehmann is principally bothered by the limitations on his personal freedom and how his day did not go according to plan, rather than any political aspects of the situation.

All three threads of the story lead into dead ends: his relationship with Katrin falls apart when they realize they both had entirely different expectations; his parents' visit show his supposed independent, self-actualized life is an empty self-deception; and Karl suffers a nervous breakdown shortly before his art opening, destroying his sculptures.

After leaving the hospital, Herr Lehmann sets out to celebrate his birthday alone by bar-hopping through West Berlin and using alcohol to escape, which has been a recurrent theme throughout the book.