Wilhelm Voigt, a shoemaker and criminal, is released from Plötzensee Prison and is now without a passport or an identity in Berlin. Without any papers he can’t get work, and without work he can’t get papers. Voigt tries everything to start a normal life and to integrate himself into society, but nobody takes any notice of his insignificant fate. He lands back behind bars, now for a full ten years. Here he is given an unexpected helping hand by the prison director, who is a military enthusiast and drills the prisoners with military quizzes and roleplays. After being discharged again, Voigt is able to get hold of an original captain’s uniform, and he puts what he learnt in prison to use. May the fun begin.