Four generations of one familiy live in the heart of the Spreewald, close to the coalmines and power stations. From their elders, the children have picked up Lower Sorbian as their first language... Many have left the area for cities or manufacturing towns. One who returned is the ferryman Rainer Schmidt. After a spell down the mines, all he wants to live here on the rivulet, next door to his father's house. Life in this seemingly idyllic landscape has never been easy for the inhabitans, and always demanded a strong sense of community. A thoughtful film portrait and urgent plea to accept our responsibility as custodians of the environment.