In summer 1979, after two years of preparations and planning, the Strezlzyk and Wetzel families want to escape from the GDR in a self-built hot-air balloon. The Strelzyk family goes first, but has to make an emergency landing before they get to cross the border. The damaged balloon gets carried away by the wind. While the family can make if back home safely, both, the Strelzyks as well as the Wetzels know it won't be long before the Stasi are onto them. Feverishly, they start building a new, more stable balloon to undertake another attempt to escape.