Siggi Jepsen, a young man in juvenile detention, must write an essay on "The Joys Of Duty" as part of his punishment. The topic overwhelms Siggi so much, he suffers at first from writer's block. Once put in solitary confinement, he finds the clarity to recount his childhood during the war in a small north-German village. His memories focus on his relationship with his father, a police officer of the village and a family friend and expressionist painter.