Since his single father is in the hospital following a car accident, twelve-year-old Emil Tischbein is sent from the East German countryside to Berlin. There, he is to spend two weeks of his vacation with Pastor Hummel and her son. On the train, the shady crook Max Grundeis steals all of his savings. Emil gives chase and, in the process, meets Pony Hütchen, the leader of a Berlin gang of kids. She decides on the spot to help the boy.