Henriette lives alone in a luxurious old apartment in Wiesbaden, which she inherited from her parents. Her everyday life is as quiet and orderly as the large rooms around her. She works as a teacher at a nearby ballet school. She regularly writes letters to a composer whom she admires but has never met in person and spends her evenings with friends who are actually her parents' friends. A chance encounter jolts Henriette out of her quiet life: she observes Felix, who is deaf and mute, stealing money in a café that was meant for the waiter. When she speaks to him on the train shortly afterwards, it is the beginning of an unusual relationship full of contrasts and unspoken passion.