Theo is a middle-aged farmer who lives with his wife Edith, their daughter, and two sons on a poor farm nearby.

Walking by the house in the early morning, a drunken René takes pictures, including of Rebecca and Marco having sex inside.

Theo is dazed, but vaguely notes a striking snake-like scar on the back of René's head.

When Theo is helped out of his truck by a passing driver, he shoots the injured horse and takes his daughter to the hospital where Laura works.

Rebecca is dissatisfied with their relationship; she sees him as taking her for granted, jealous without cause, and lacking ambition.

The reason he takes them is his short-term memory problems which were caused by a head injury while serving in the army; without photos he would have no way of remembering places or people.

Theo draws a picture of the shape he remembers and sticks up copies around town, appealing for people to come forward with information.

Reinvestigating the crash site, Theo locates the buried car and identifies Marco as the owner.

After injuring Theo's aggressive German shepherd, Marco manages to ski away before going over the edge of a cliff, and he falls, seemingly forever, into a crevasse in the valley, to his death.

The film is based on the novel Expense of Spirit by Anne-Françoise Pyszora; however, this original story does not contain the character of Theo, and takes place in summer: Tykwer felt the film would be more attractive in a snowy winter setting.