Four gentlemen play house music with dedication and enthusiasm. They don't let anything get in their way. One of the four is put behind bars by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution because his scientific work is being published in the GDR. A NATO maneuver rages around the house and intrudes into their private lives. The roof catches fire and half the house collapses. The musicians continue to play the well-known canon: "Heaven and earth may pass away, but the musicians..."