The film is set in the 1980s in a Bhagwan commune in southern Germany. At the center of the story is eleven-year-old Ludwig, who lives with his parents and other followers of the Indian guru Bhagwan in a spiritual collective. Everyone wears orange clothing, believes in free love, meditation, and an alternative lifestyle. However, Ludwig longs for a "normal" life with soccer, school, and regular structure—something that is considered bourgeois within the commune. When the commune’s attempt to buy a neighboring house fails, the system begins to unravel. Ludwig starts to distance himself internally, and his coming-of-age unfolds in the tension between ideals and reality.