Post-war Berlin, 1946: Three small-time, oddball crooks plan the heist of their lives. They want to break into the vault of the German Traffic Credit Union to steal the weekly Reichsbahn payroll. In preparation, they rent the top floor of the building and use it to spy on the bank. Despite several unforeseen incidents, the robbers are able to make off with the loot, but a motley police team gets on their heels. This crime comedy, with a stellar cast including Otto Sander, Götz George and Rolf Hoppe, is based on a true story that scriptwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase turned into a tour de force of sharp, witty dialogues and a detailed portrayal of Berlin just a few months after WWII.