原籍土耳其的德国人卡德因(Birol Ünel)因妻子离开和失业对生活充满恨意,当摇滚和白粉不足以支撑他继续活下去时,他开车撞墙自杀,但没成功。在医院里,他结识父母也是土耳其人的、小他20岁的女孩西贝尔(Sibel Kekilli),后者为摆脱古板传统的父母,用假自杀的方式来到医院,但其父母仍追到医院让她尽快嫁个土耳其男人。 在西贝尔的请求下,卡德因与她假结婚,两人说好互不干涉对方的生活,西贝尔如愿过上饮酒作乐、频繁更换男友的自由与刺激兼有的日子,卡得因也因她的活泼与激情,重新燃起生命的希望。相安无事半年后,卡德因真的爱上了西贝尔,西贝尔也在偶然间发现自己对卡德因的情人充满嫉妒,可是生活却于此时将两人的距离越拉越开。In 'Gegen die Wand' Cahit, a 40-something male from Mersin in Turkey has removed everything Turkish from his life. He has become an alcoholic drug addict and at the start of the movie wants to end it all. Sibel a 20-something female from Hamburg wishes to please her Turkish parents yet yearns for freedom. She has had her nose broken by her brother for being seen holding hands with a boy and yet she can not break her mother's heart and run away. She too attempts suicide and she first approaches Cahit there at the Hospital. Sibel asks Cahit to marry her, as she believes this to be the way out of her parent's house. She promises Cahit that their relationship will be like roommates, not like a married couple. The film follows Sibel and Cahit as they get married, become closer and eventually fall in love.