Eymen, Eray, Gustaf, Max and Svea are fundamentally different: in age, social environment, beliefs and interests. What they have in common is a special position within their family structure. They are what is often called "shadow children" in the jargon of psychology. As siblings of children with chronic or life-shortening illnesses or disabilities, they have to deal with issues such as responsibility, abandonment and loss at a much earlier age than their peers. Their reality is fundamentally different from that of other children and adolescents in Germany.
Quietly observing and with great respect for all family members, the film approaches the different life realities of the siblings and introduces their everyday life. An everyday life that remains hidden from most people, even if about 4 million people in the country have a brother or sister who is chronically or life-shortened ill or disabled. The retreat of the affected families into the private sphere and the social repression and tabooing of illness and death - especially when it comes to children - contribute to the fact that the life experiences, the problems, but also the special competencies of the "shadow children" are still hardly perceived by the public.