Can and his girlfriend, Jale, live with their young daughter, Meral, in a tough Turkish neighbourhood of Berlin and barely manage to scrape enough money together for their existence. Can is a small-time dealer and errand-boy for drug boss Hakan, who has to keep his customers supplied within his narrowly staked out territory. Jale, who works in the ware-house of a department store, has been pressing Can to give up this activity. Can, also fed up with his situation, sees a bright new beginning for himself and his family when Hakan offers him the prospective chance to run a bar on his very own. But Can has little control over the pressures that gradually begin to build up around him and soon finds himself floundering in quicksand.

Can et sa compagne Jale vivent avec leur petite fille Meral dans le quartier turc de Berlin. Dealer occasionnel, Can travaille aussi, contre l’avis de Jale, pour Hakan,

un trafiquant qui lui propose une affaire.

Can, Kleindealer mit türkischem Paß in Berlin-Schöneberg, steckt in einer Krise. Seine Freundin will ihn zusammen mit dem gemeinsamen Kind verlassen. Sein Auftraggeber Hakan verspricht ihm eine eigene Bar, hält ihn aber hin, wird schließlich erschossen. Ein Zivilpolizist ist ihm auf den Fersen.