Episode list

The Fallers are a Black Forest farming family. Three generations are living on the farm which is in financial difficulties. Hermann is heavily involved in local politics and it is his son Karl who looks after the farm. And the other son, Bernhard, a currently unemployed biologist, moves into the family home along with Monique who is about to give birth to their child any day.

Maria returns to the Faller farm on Johanna's invitation and looks after Monique and her baby boy. Then she has an accident. Hermann visits daughter Kati and asks her to be godmother to the baby. Meanwhile Hermann's younger brother Franz, bank manager in the near town and owner of the family sawmill, refuses to extend Hermann's loans, hoping to force his brother to sell the family farm.

The Fallers are shocked when they hear that the priest has been to see Maria in the hospital to administer the last rites.

Monique quarrels with Wilhelm because she doesn't like his choice of a godfather for her child. Franz Faller refuses further loans to Hermann, hoping his brother will have to sell him a piece of land he has his eye on. Kati's daughter Eva is being difficult.

Bernhard and Monique quarrel on the morning of their boy's christening. Franz acts as godfather to the child, but during the reception in the local inn he and Hermann quarrel again.

Monique helps out with the farm work while Bernhard is listlessly working on his thesis. Maria complains about increasing pain in her leg, but her doctor is more interested in one of the nurses than in the condition of his elderly patient. Elsewhere, there is a mutual feeling of attraction between Kati and Dr. Rudolf.

Maria is having a bad night in hospital with the pain in her leg. Eventually another patient organizes a morphine injection for her. With disastrous effects. At home with the Fallers, Hermann is trying to promote his guest rooms for holiday makers, without much support from his son Karl, and in the village there is much gossip about the financial situation of the Fallers.

Kati comes into the hospital for work and finds Maria is in intensive care. Dr. Rudolf tries to find out what exactly has happened in the hospital during the night that led to the deterioration of the old woman's condition. When Wilhelm Faller hears that Maria is being kept alive by machines, he declares that he wants to die at home when his time comes.

At Maria's funeral, her relations are keeping their distance from the Faller family. While the mourners are assembled in the local inn and Wilhelm Faller is reading the eulogy, Maria's family are already on the way to her home to divide her possessions among them. In the hospital, Dr Marquard and nurse Gabi are under pressure.

Bernhard and Monique quarrel when Bernhard loses his job at the university. Wilhelm goes to Franz to ask for another loan, but Franz refuses, even calls in outstanding loans with the intention to ruin the family. Kati learns that Dr Marquard used his connections and was acquitted of any misconduct in the treatment of patient Maria.

The death of Maria has deeply affected Kati and even when Dr Rudolf assures her that he will not accept the decision regarding Dr Marquard's conduct, she remains cold. Franz Faller is spinning more intrigues to get his hands on land that will be valuable as a building site.

Monique is annoyed that she is left to look after the baby on her own while Bernhard is out and about in town. Then one day Bernhard and his father look after the child while the women of the house are out shopping, and the baby falls off a table. They rush it to hospital immediately. Franz Faller is putting further pressure on Hermann to repay his loans.

A Swedish businessman sees Hermann's land and invites him to Sweden for talks. Karl's old friend Lisa returns from Frankfurt to help out her sick father on his farm and asks Karl for help, and Kati has problems with daughter Eva. When she slaps her, Eva grabs her things and takes a bus to go to her grandparents' on the farm.

Christmas Eve is hectic for the Fallers: Johanna is plucking the goose, Karl comes in from the forest with a particularly miserly tree for the house, Kati only drops off presents before she's off to the hospital where she is on duty for the night. On top of that there is a family of paying guests staying in the farmhouse over the holidays. Then Hermann returns from Sweden with important news. Wilhelm is furious.

There is a big New Year's party in the local inn, and the young generation are amusing themselves. Karl and Lisa have rekindled their love affair, and the Fallers' holiday guest is shamelessly flirting with Monique. Kati is on duty, together with Dr. Rudolf. Unfortunately, then Mrs. Rudolf turns up in the hospital.

Monique is helping out with the farm work while Karl is in Frankfurt with Lisa. Bernhard brings Eva to the hospital when she hurts her ankle during ballet practice. Eva is very reserved towards Dr. Rudolf who is treating her. Franz is curious about the plans the rest of the family have for the land designated as building site.

Monique is still working in the cow shed, but Bernhard is now chipping in too. However, when Johanna suggests he might take over the farm, he disappoints her and firmly declines the offer. Franz is still putting pressure on his father and brother, and Eva reacts with coolness when Dr Rudolf comes home with Kati one day, apparently eager to have a look at her injured foot. Then one evening Karl is back from Frankfurt.

Karl is back and doing the farm work, with Monique still helping. The two give each other moral support after Karl's disappointment with Lisa and Bernhard's constant complaints that Monique is neglecting their son. Kati invites Dr Rudolf to her home for dinner, hoping he will stay the night.

Karl is untypically forgiving when Monique makes a mistake and floods the yard with milk. Eva behaves rather badly towards Kati, being jealous that her mother is in love. In the hospital, Dr Marquard finds out Kati is having an affair with Dr. Rudolf.

Franz tries to influence the villagers against Hermann's project. Wilhelm takes action. Bernhard wallows in the doom and gloom of his current situation while Monique works tirelessly on the farm helping Johanna. Dr Rudolf calls at Kati's home and in her absence helps Eva with her homework. Eva doesn't tell her mother, who is delayed on her way home and misses her lover.

A TV crew visits the Faller farm to film Karl working in the stables. While Karl is uncomfortable in front of the camera Bernhard enjoys making speeches. A quarrel between the brothers follows. Kati meets Dr Rudolf for a romantic evening even though she has got a got a private warning in the hospital that everybody in the ward is gossiping about their affair.

Kati and Eva are on a day out with Dr. Rudolf and Kati doesn't like the way Eva is treating the doctor like a father. When he offers to pay for Eva's education, Kati refuses pointblank. A farm inspection is stressing out Karl. Monique uses her charm and people skills to establish friendly relations with the inspectors. Hermann and Wilhelm have a bitter quarrel.

A mysterious visitor is staying in one of the Fallers' guest rooms, a journalist is surreptitiously wandering around the farmhouse, and when Hermann and his friends discuss the milk carnival activities in the inn somebody is listening to their conversation. Meanwhile Dr Marquard is spying on Kati, who is doing her best to keep her distance from Dr. Rudolf in the hospital.

Kati meets an old school friend and tells Dr Rudolf that she wants to end their affair. Franz travels to Sweden to find out more about Hermann's business partner there and spoil the planned project for him. The man is no fool, but he doesn't let Franz know that he sees through him.

A family whose daughter Nina suffers from Down syndrome are staying on the Fallers' farm. Bernhard has a surprise for Monique and Kati's sick friend gets his diagnosis from Dr. Rudolf.

Bernhard has finally finished his thesis and goes to hand it in in person, hoping he will get an assistant's job at the university. Kati spends time with her old friend who is in hospital waiting for an operation and doesn't show up at a date with Dr Rudolf. The various paying guests in the farmhouse do not get on with each other, some guests openly show their aversion to Nina, the girl with Down syndrome.

Karl challenges his father when Hermann sells a bull calf to the butcher which he had chosen as future breeding bull. In the hospital there is confusion over a patient during the night.

After the quarrel with his father over the sold bull calf Karl really goes on strike. Instead of doing the work on the farm, he goes to the inn and drinks beer with his friends, then spends the next day in bed sleeping off his hang over. When two young people, Egbert Schiller and his very attractive sister Gudrun, stay in the farmhouse as holiday guests, he goes off with them for the day and shows them the region.

Kati thinks that it would be a good idea to move Hans to a specialized hospital where they might be able to help him. This gives her new hope. Karl makes friends with the holiday guests and becomes their guide to the region while Hermann is apprehensive about a meeting for his building project.

Johanna decides it's time for spring cleaning and has the entire family helping with the chores. Karl, who is doing the farm work again, seems smitten with Gudrun Schiller and Wilhelm receives a letter from his third son, Heinz, who works in a mission in Namibia. Meanwhile none of the doctors agree with Kati's suggestion to move Hans, who is still in a coma, to another hospital.

Hermann is under pressure with his building project and hopes for support from mayor Singler. Father Wilhelm makes a decision and the family's loyalties are split. Kati meets with opposition from Dr Marquard in everything she does to help coma patient Hans.

Hermann and Franz are allies for once, but father Wilhelm doesn't trust the peace. Kati's daughter Eva goes shopping with her friend Sandra. Kati's friend, the coma patient Hans, is visited by his son.

Hermann gets news that his project has been nixed. He suspects his own family may be behind this defeat. Kati meets the wife of patient Hans and Sandra brings Eva to a clandestine meeting place of youngsters where Eva is offered drugs.

Hermann's Swedish business partner arrives on the farm to talk to him after he has learned from Franz that their building project was declined, but Hermann is not there. Kati's daughter Eva is hanging out with her friend Sandra and her clique. Bernhard is told to leave the farm and is given a month to find another place to live.

Kati and Dr Rudolf are at home waiting for Eva. When she comes in, they realize that she has been offered drugs.

Against her better judgment, Eva meets Sandra and her drug dealing clique for a night out. Kati and Dr Rudolf come on the scene just when she is offered cocaine by one of Sandra's friends. Hermann spends a lot of time with a good looking holiday guest, even talks about a new beginning. Kati's friend Hans has woken up from the coma, but proves an impatient patient.

Johanna is deeply affected by Hermann's affair with the attractive holiday guest. Eva is staying on the Faller farm and Kati would like to even keep her out of school and away from her drug dealing friends for a while. The only person Eva will eventually talk to is Bernhard. Kati has a visit from Dr Rudolf's wife.

Monique is back on the farm and wonders what Bernhard has been up to in her absence. Jerzy Mrozek, a holiday guest from England, asks a lot of questions about grandfather Wilhelm's past and about the size of the farm. Kati and Dr Rudolf are planning a holiday together.

Franz finds out about the mysterious Jerzy Mrozek and who he is, and immediately thinks of ways to use him in his intrigues against the rest of the family. Kati has another visit from Dr Rudolf's wife.

Jerzy Mrozek is leaving again. Eva is in love with Safak, a Turkish youth, the lead singer of a rock band rehearsing in the local inn, and Kati misses a date with Dr. Rudolf.

Safak is staying on the Faller farm, hiding from the authorities. While the women of the family are all for helping him and Bernhard goes to the town hall to talk to the officials, Hermann only thinks about the rental income he is missing out on by having the young man stay in one of his guest rooms. Dr Rudolf feels betrayed by both women in his life when he learns that Kati has met his wife.

Eva and Safak have left the Faller farm and are on a steamer on the river Rhine, intent on traveling. Nobody in the family knows where they are. In the hospital Kati meets Dr Rudolf's wife once again.

Eva is found and Kati collects her to bring her home. In the hospital. Dr Marquard embarrasses Kati in front of patients. Franz is in trouble when there is an accident in his sawmill. Grandfather Wilhelm is disappointed with his children and grandchildren.

When Hermann hears about Toni's injury from the accident in the sawmill, he immediately wonders how he can use this against Franz. His attractive lady friend asks Franz for a huge loan. Will he approve it? A fox has caused havoc in the Fallers' hen house, and Wilhelm and Eva lay in wait for it the next night.

Grandfather Wilhelm receives a letter from his third son, Heinz, who works in a mission in Namibia. When he doesn't tell anybody what's written in it, Hermann decides to sneak a peek. Monique and Bernhard quarrel, and Bernhard drives off in a huff. Franz is in trouble over the bank loan for his lady friend.

Wilhelm wants to travel to Africa to visit Heinz. Hermann and Franz bring him to the airport. A teenage girl stays at the farmhouse with her mother. She wants to go riding and asks Eva to come along to the stables. Bernhard returns home and announces that he has got a job at the university and Franz has to deal with the scandal caused by the loan for Frau Seiler-Gräbele.

Hermann finds out that Bernhard has lied to them and is not working at the university in Freiburg, but jobs as taxi driver in the town. Monique takes it very personal that Bernhard hasn't trusted her with the truth. Eva has her first riding lesson, but finds her instructor very demanding and the outing ends in tears for her.

Eva has stuck to the riding for the time being and is going on her first ride out. There are new holiday guests at the farmhouse, a married couple who are enthusiastic mountain bikers who are rather too health conscious.

The Bremers are rather unpleasant house guests, they complain about the food which is not healthy enough for their liking. Hermann is not impressed. Monique has left the farm and Bernhard to go visit her mother in France. The family fear she might not return and wonder if Bernhard will do something to win her back. The girl Anna who introduced Eva to horse riding had a serious fall and is in hospital. There are concerns that she may never walk again.

Johanna has a thrombosis in her leg and must go to hospital immediately for treatment. Kati knows of a woman in the village who will look after the house and help with the work while Johanna is away. Initially none of the men are happy with the new woman in around the house and the farm. Bernhard postpones his trip to see Monique.