Oldenburg, Germany, 1949: War widow Margarete Oelkers still hasn’t received the widow’s pension she is entitled to. When she takes her frustration out on the administrative office and vandalizes the premises, a medical officer diagnoses her with schizophrenia and has her taken to a psychiatric hospital in Wehnen, where she will undergo dubious forms of therapy and only be released a year later. As Margarete stands up for herself and fights for her rights, she uncovers horrific crimes once committed in this institution.