The novel begins with the author, Anna Funder, in Berlin. There, she meets an old woman who tells her she once had a lover on the other side of the Wall but that she could not bring herself to cross on the other side.
Anna tells the reader she lived in Berlin in the 1980s and then in 1994 she visited Leipzig. A year later, she returned to Leipzig where she visited the headquarters of the Stasi, the force tasked with finding about any illegal activity. The Stasi had so much information about the German citizens that the documents could stretch over a distance of more than 200 km. While at the museum, Anna learned about people who were arrested by the Stasi and thus she decided to start investigating and researching the stories of those people.
In the second chapter, Anna tells her readers she is a journalist working for a television company in West Berlin. One day, Anna gets a letter from a viewer interested in working on a story about the life in East Berlin but Anna’s boss is reluctant to accept such a story, claiming that they need to focus on current matters, not on past ones. After answering to the letter, Anna gets a response through which she is told that not investigating the stories is a mistake because it would be similar to what Germany did before the Second World War started.
Also in Leipzig, Anna meets a woman named Miriam Weber, a person who was followed by the Stasi and even deemed as Enemy of the State because she took part in a rally against the police and their manner of dealing with things they did not agreed with. Because of her actions, Miriam was incarcerated and put in solitary confinement for more than a month and then, when she was released, she try to escape on the other side of the Berlin Wall. Miriam did succeed in passing on the other side in 1968 but she was caught and sent back to Leipzig.
There, she was put back in solitary confinement and tortured with sleep deprivation. The investigator tried to make Miriam confess and admit she was helped by someone from the outside and after days of being tortured, she lied and told them she was helped by an underground organization. Miriam was thus left alone for a while but then, her interrogator came back a few days later, angry he was lied to. He criticized Miriam for lying to him and then she was sentenced to one year and a half in prison.
When Miriam was released, she was just 17 years old. She began dating a man named Charlie whom she married but their life was though because of their involvement with people frowned upon by the state. In 1980, Charlie was sent to prison and in the same year, Miriam was told her husband was dead. When she tried to investigate his death, she was told he hanged himself but Miriam claims there were no marks on his neck. The government officials insisted that Charlie’s body had to be cremated but Miriam kept on insisting he has to be buried and thus she was allowed to bury her husband.
After Charlie died, Miriam expressed her desire to leave East Germany and one day, she was summoned to a governmental office where she was told she must board a train and leave. Six months later, the Wall fell and Miriam returned home. When Anna asked why she returned, Miriam tells her about her efforts to find what really happened to her husband. She is trying to get permission to exhume her husband’s body to see what really happened to him and then to try and get justice.
When Anna returns home, she contemplates her apartment, a bare living space, devoid almost of any type of furniture. Anna thinks about the people who were affected by the Stasi while also thinking how the Stasi felt when their power was stripped. Determined to find more about them, Anna puts an ad in a newspaper, expressing her desire to interview a former Stasi.
Soon enough, many people call her, offering themselves to be interviewed as long as they are paid. Anna is unsure whether she can offer any money and realizes the reason why many Stasi are willing to talk about their work is because they can no longer find any employment because of their involvement.
Anna talks about the man who was in charge of the Stasi, Mielke Erich. Mielke moved to Russia when the Nazi movement gained popularity in Germany and he returned to his home country after the end of the Second World War. Mielke rose gradually to power until he became the head of the Stasi, a position he held for more than 20 years. When Russia withdrew their help, Mielke tried to maintain order in the country and maintain the Communist idea. He was unable to do it however, as more and more people were keen on gaining their independence and thus in 1989 the Communist regime fell.
Starting from that moment, the Stasi employees were told to destroy any files they might have in the German citizens and any files that might incriminate their organization. The people in charge of the Stasi were either prosecuted or have fled the country to escape from being sent to prison. Also, the new Government decided to make the files available to the people who were followed, should they have wanted to read them.
When Anna expresses her desire to talk with someone who opposed the Stasi, she is told she must speak with Frau Paul.
Then, one morning, Anna is called by a man named Herr Winz who wants to talk with her about the Stasi and debunk some of the lies told by the media about the organization. Anna meets with Winz a few days later who refuses to give her too many information. Winz tells Anna he worked for the Stasi and how they had informants everywhere, even in NATO and in West Germany. Before leaving, Winz gives Anna a copy of the Communist manifesto written by Karl Marx.
One night, Anna returns home to find Julia, the woman in whose apartment she is staying, in her room once more. Julia tells Anna about the Italian lover she once had and about her parents. Julia’s parents were both teachers and had strong opinions against the Communist regime. They were however never jailed for their beliefs and Julia grew up to love languages and dream of becoming a translator one day. When Julia was 16, she met an Italian business man and the two felt in love. For a few years, the pair met in Hungary because they were under constant surveillance in Germany. Julia was sent to a boarding school and there the headmaster pressured both her and her parents to make Julia give up her boyfriend.
When Julia graduated, she first tried to become a translator and then applied to be a hotel receptionist. She was however denied the opportunity and Julia is told she will never get the chance to work in the domain of her choosing because of her relationship with the Italian man. Unfortunately for Julia, soon after that, she broke up with the Italian man. When she returned home, she was summoned by the police and then sent to discuss matters with Major N. who was working for the Stasi. Major N. tried to convince Julia to give them information about the Italian man but she refused, claiming she broke up with him. What is more, she disobeyed their orders and told her parents about the conversation she had with Major N. and her parents urged her to contact Honecker to try and solve the problem. Major N. visits her soon after, trying to convince her not to contact Honecker. Soon after their discussion, Julia is offered the post of receptionist.
At her work, Anna is told by Uwe about two people she could interview, a man named Hagen Kock and another man named Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler.
The next day, Julia goes to Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler’s office where she talks with a woman who works there. The woman, Frau Anderson, tells Anna she is proud that Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler did not gave up his beliefs and that he remained true to himself. At the office, Anna does not talk with Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler but weeks later, she receives a call form a man who connects Anna to Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler’s wife who in turn gives Anna Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler’s address.
Anna meets Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler who claims that everything that was told about him is a lie. Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler tells Anna he was born into a wealthy family who maintained their power in the Nazi regime as well and also in the Communist one. Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler was given the task of spreading propaganda and even after the fall of communism, he still claims he believes in what he told the public during the time the communists were in power. He makes a point of keeping himself separated from practices such as inflating the numbers about the harvest and making the people believe the country’s financial situation was better than it actually was. Before leaving, Anna gives Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler a pin with two flags as a gift.
In the 14th chapter, Anna meets again with Julia who tells her she was raped after the fall of the Wall of Berlin. The man cornered her in an elevator and he threatened to kill her should she reveal what happened. Despite the threat, Julia went to the police and the man was later caught. Julia tells Anna how she thinks the man may have been released because of the political and social environment.
In the 15th chapter, Anna meets with Herr Christian who worked decoding and recording the phone calls made by the everyday citizens. He was demoted when it was found he had an affair with a woman and even had to spend a few days in jail.
Next, Anna meets with Hagen Kock who was responsible with planning to build the Wall and had an active part in deciding where the Wall was going to be built. Hagen was born in Germany and because he did well in school, he was pushed by many to become involved in politics and to become a Stasi member.
When Hagen grew up, he ran for mayor in a small town but because he won and because he was not a member of the communist party, he was imprisoned until he agreed to join the party. Hagen also talks about the way America was perceived and when Anna asks him why many demonized America he made her think about all the horrible things America did and about all the hardship they have caused during the war.
Hagen became a Stasi in 1960 and a year later, he married. Also in the same year, the work at the Wall began but Hagen decided to stay behind because he loved his wife. Hagen left the party in 1966 and as a result he was imprisoned. While he was in jail, the Stasi pressured his wife into signing divorce papers and when Hagen got out, he was pressured into joining the Stasi once more. Hagen joined the Stasi once more but the relationship he had with his wife was tarnished by this incident and Hagen was called as being ‘’inconsistent’’ because of his relationship problems.
In 1985, Hagen resigned from the Stasi once more when he was not allowed to attend his father’s funeral. When he left, Hagen stole a plate from the office where he worked and the people at the office quickly realized what had happened. Even though they tried to prosecute Hagen, they were unable and he walked free.
Next, Anna meets with Klaus Jentzsch, a German who liked to play music. His music was banned in Germany and he had to work for years as a sound technician at the theater. When the Wall felt, Klaus began playing music again and gained a lot of fame. Klaus tells Anna about some band members who died of cancer and how it was later discovered the state poisoned them with radioactive pins and other devices. Despite this, Klaus still maintained his positive attitude and continued to play for the public.
In the 20th chapter, Anna meets gets a call from a man named Herr Bock who trained people to be informers during the time when the Stasi were still in power. Anna meets with him and she finds about the Stasi informers and how many people even from the church were working for the Stasi. Many people expressed their desire to work for the Stasi and Bock had the task of training them and deciding where they will be most useful. However, Bock tells Anna that the informers were paid little and some were not paid at all.
Next, Anna talks with Frau Paul, an elderly woman. Frau Paul tells Anna about her baby, a boy born before the Wall was built. The child was extremely sick so they arranged to have him sent on the other side of the wall, where he could get access to medicine and medical care. Despite the child’s heath deteriorating, the family did not get permission to move on the other side. A man named Michael told Frau Paul and her husband they could forge passports and go on the other side but on the day they were supposed to leave the pair was told the Stasi had figured out many were using fake passports and thus it was no longer safe to cross.
Many people who tried to cross were eventually caught and imprisoned and the Stasi tried to make some of the people who were trying to leave the country to help them catch the people who were building tunnels and who were looking for weak points in the Wall. Frau Paul recalls how she was contacted by the Stasi who wanted her to give the name and location of the person who tried to help her escape while promising her to reunite her with her ill son. Frau Paul refused to help them even though she knew she was risking not seeing her son ever again.
Frau Paul and her husband were imprisoned for their collaboration with the people who tried to fight against the state and she was sent for two years in prison. Meanwhile, her son was in West Germany, in a hospital. Frau Paul’s son was eventually sent back to his parents when he was five years old. Even after he was reunited with his parents, he still had to travel frequently between the two sides and as a result he was asked to smuggle various things over the border. When Anna talks with him, he expresses his happiness regarding the fall of the Wall.
In chapter 24, Anna talks with Herr Bohnsack, a man who used to work for the Stasi and who, during his time there, had the task of carrying ‘’disinformation and psychological warfare against the west.” During their most productive days, the department where Bohnsack worked had the purpose of leaking information and manipulating people into doing their biding. The only reason why Bohnsack went public is because he feared his name will be revealed through other means so he decided to make himself known on his own terms.
The chapter ends with Anna telling the reader she soon left Germany after her talk with Bohnsack. The reason why she left is because her mother was sick so she had to return home and take care of her.
Anna returns to Berlin in 2000 and she tries to contact Miriam and Julia. The first one to write back is Julia who tells Anna she moved to San Francisco where she rebuilt her life. Mielke dies a few weeks after Anna returns to Berlin and many believe he was unjustifiably vilified by the state.
Anna also meets with Frau Paul and then with Hagen who became a tourist guide, taking people to the Wall and giving them pieces of the Wall as souvenirs. Next, Anna travels to Nuremberg where she visits an office where workers manually reassemble documents destroyed by the Stasi. Anna is told that it would take them more than 400 years to reassemble all the files, making Anna understand just how many people were followed by the Stasi.
In Leipzig, Anna visits a museum about the Wall and realizes soon she is the only person inside the museum. Anna also meets with Miriam and the two talk about the current state of the country and the general feelings of nostalgia. Miriam tells Anna she still hadn’t give up on trying to exhume her dead husband and after talking with some other people who were in prison at the same time Charlie was, she was even more convinced he was killed by the prison guards.
The book ends with Anna in a park, watching a group of children play and thinking about the country and how it changed in the last years.
