Twelve years after graduating from high school, Helmut Hausknecht's former class is planning a class reunion. Hausknecht, still a teacher, has heart problems. His former pupil, Wolfgang Lichtenfeld, now a senior physician and an excellent surgeon, operates on him. On his birthday, not only Wolfgang congratulates his former teacher and patient, but also Uwe Tolls. The two were rivals back then. Their brief encounter shows that nothing has changed.