During a holiday on the North Sea coast, Dole meets Hermann and they become very close friends. But this is no ordinary friendship. Dole is an eleven-year-old girl and Hermann is a middle-aged man, married with children of his own. Back home, since both live near Mannheim, they see each other quite often. Then one day Dole’s mother announces that they are moving to France; but Dole has other ideas. A short while later Hermann answers a knock at the door to find Dole standing on his front step. She wants him to run away with her--and he does! Pursued by Dole’s mother and Hermann’s wife, the journey of this odd couple becomes a wild goose chase which brings them full circle, ending where it all began, at the coast. But since their first encounter, a few things have changed: Dole has grown up, Hermann hasn’t.