Only the others have fun: In the Hamburg social drama, a teenager experiences the cold side of the neighbourhood. Hunger drives Leon (Albert Lichtenstern) onto the street. His mother has once again not taken care of him and is somewhere. To get money and food, the 15-year-old steals everything that is not nailed down. He finds small odd jobs in the run-down "Palaise Cherie" brothel, which has become a place to go for him. His fatherly friend Klaus (Detlev Dorendorf), the "Koberer", sits on his stool day and night and tries to guide passers-by into the shop. And then there is a prostitute to whom Leon feels attracted. As always, the boy somehow gets through the day - but this time he has to realise that his mother is not coming back to him.