Spanning 1919 to 1982, in the fictional village of Schabbach, lives Maria Simon and her family, whose lives and community are changed by historical events around them.
A self-loathing, alcoholic writer attempts to repair his damaged relationships with his daughter and her mother while combating sex addiction, a budding drug problem, and the seeming inability to avoid making bad decisions.
When a risk-averse, straight-arrowed, female procurement manager at an Amazon-like distribution center falls in love with a free-spirited man who lives life to the fullest because he believes the apocalypse is imminent, they embark on a quest together to fulfill their individual bucket lists, with comedic and poignant results.
After four decades of reporting from the continent, Jonathan Dimbleby returns to Africa on a 7,000-mile journey to discover how it is changing.