Hermann von Rohde

Lavish adaptation of Wilhelm Hauff′s fairy tale: Young charburner Peter Munk dreams of joining the upper class. He makes a deal with the sinister Holländer-Michel, who offers to trade Peter′s human heart for one made of stone. Once he has the "cold heart" in his body, Peter eventually strikes a fortune and enjoys great wealth, but at the same time, he becomes a bitter and emotionless man – and, having lost all traces of humanity, even murders his wife Lisbeth. Only then does Peter Munk finally realize what has become of him, and he decides to regain his real heart from Holländer-Michel.

GDR and West Berlin in the 1950s. Hans Nettermann, a designer at the "Komet" bicycle factory, is a favorite of the BSG road riders. His dream is to one day ride in a stand-up race. A construction error throws him back in the road race. They work for a long time to fix it. Then he is persuaded to go to West Berlin to become a professional rider. Although he makes it to the top class, he also learns about the scams in professional sport. He marries Marianne, who has followed him and tries to persuade him to return to the GDR, which he eventually does. After some difficulties at work, he is nominated for the first amateur endurance race in the GDR and wins.