A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
Stefan, a recent college graduate, hitchhikes from Germany to Paris where he meets American expatriate, Estelle. They chase the sun to Ibiza. An idyllic island life degenerates when she introduces him to heroin and they get addicted.
In late-1920s Berlin, Franz Biberkopf is released from prison and vows to go straight. However, he soon finds himself embroiled in the city's criminal underworld.