In the 1980s, the small community of Wackersdorf, Bavaria, lies in a region whose economy is suffering. The unemployment rate is rising. Believing the whole county will see an economic benefit, the Bavarian government secretly plans to build a reprocessing plant for spent nuclear fuel near the town. State representative Hans Schuierer is enthusiastic about the idea; before long, he is regarded as the savior of the region. He ignores the sporadic protests against the plan until the state government vehemently acts to oppose the actions of a recently formed citizens' initiative. At that point, Schuierer starts to have doubts. Is the plant really as harmless as has been claimed? He begins to look into the matter.
