The entire family comes together at Guldenburg Manor south of Hamburg to celebrate Count Martin von Guldenburg’s 60th birthday – his brother Max, daughter Evelyn from his first marriage and her husband Achim Lauritzen, who runs an ad agency in Hamburg; Thomas, his son from his first marriage, who would prefer to be on his yacht at the Côte d'Azur instead of on a flight to Hamburg; Sascha, his son from his current marriage to Christine, who is studying at Oxford; and daughter Nane, an 18-year-old schoolgirl who is the Count’s favorite. But the absolute figure of respect in this stately home is Dowager Countess Herta. Despite her advanced age, she keeps a jealous watch over the empire, an empire which owes much of its existence to her tenacity and iron will.
