Six-year-old Lukas is growing up in chaotic family circumstances and wants nothing more than a real father. He finds one in Janosch, his teenage mother's new boyfriend. The shrewd and cunning drifter and small-time hoodlum takes Lukas under his wing and shows him that life can be wild and beautiful. When Janna is pregnant again, Janosch is arrested. Swearing eternal loyalty to him, Lukas takes over Janosch's role in the family and looks after his mother as well as his neglected, wild sister Babs. Secretly, however, he tries to find out where Janosch is. When Janna falls in love with Harry König, the shady owner of a gambling parlor, Lukas sees the dream of Janosch's return in danger. He now tries everything in his power to fight the rival of his beloved Janosch.
