Cologne-Ehrenfeld, November 1944. They're young, wild and rebellious, like young people anywhere and in any time. But working-class boys Karl and his younger brother Peter are Edelweiss Pirates. They oppose the Nazis, and are pursued by the Gestapo. With the escaped concentration camp prisoner Hans Steinbrück they plan acts of sabotage, until the Gestapo take them on with their full might. When they're arrested, Karl is torn between his will to survive, his feelings of responsibility, his love for his brother and his loyalty to the Edelweiss Pirates.