The Berlin Wall—in place from 1961 to 1989—set a people against each other, figuratively and literally stealing the lives of countless East German soldiers standing guard and their countrymen trying to escape to the West. This is the story of two guards, Ulrich Steinhauer and Egon Bunge. In November 1980, Bunge decided to carry out his own plan of escape, and in the horribly sad process killed Corporal Steinhauer, his official partner at the gate. Director Simon begins in 1980 and follows the trail of Bunge into West Germany. He also poignantly portrays the stories of the two men—Steinhauer, whose life was cut short, and Bunge, whose remaining years were filled with the horrid guilt of both killer and survivor.