Off Course

Hugo and Braulio arrive in Berlin after being lured by a TV program promising employment. Hugo literally runs into Carla, a fellow Spaniard who has just broken through professionally. They quickly end up sharing a building with Rafa, Carla's drug-dealing brother, and the elderly expatriate Andrés.

The group endures a fruitless search for work in their trained professions, with the language barrier proving a major hurdle. In the end, Hugo and Braulio are taken on at Hakan's Turkish café, working alongside Rafa.

Hugo sends most of his earnings back to Spain, where his father Próspero has just lost his job. His mother Beni and his fiancée Nadia visit Berlin after hearing his glowing stories, deciding to visit him spontaneously.

Hugo and Carla gradually grow closer, moving past their initial mutual dislike. Carla confesses she tends to end up as 'the other woman' in relationships, sharing a wedding anecdote that sheds light on her pattern.

A subplot unfolds as Hakan and his wife Marisol face infertility and turn to medical tests to determine sterility. The doctor warns that the couple will need tests to understand their chances.

While Braulio attempts to fund German lessons by selling sperm, he runs into Marisol at the fertility clinic. She offers to pay for his lessons if he donates sperm without a middleman, and Braulio agrees, leading to her eventual conception.

Hakan discovers he is sterile and questions whether he could be the father of Marisol's baby. He cuts off contact with Braulio and Marisol.

Andrés is revealed to be dealing with Alzheimer's disease, while also being an irascible elder figure in the expatriate circle. He is also shown to have an estranged daughter living in Spain.

When Hugo's parents and fiancée Nadia visit Berlin, Rafa, Carla, Hakan, and Marisol each play a different role as Hugo's 'staff'. Carla is introduced as Hugo's secretary and Nadia as his fiancée, causing Carla to rethink her attraction to Hugo and exposing his deception.

On the day of his wedding in Spain, Próspero tells Hugo to marry for love, not money. Emboldened, Hugo jilts Nadia at the altar and immediately travels back to Berlin.

Back in Berlin, Hugo joins a crowd at the Berlin Marathon and spots Carla jogging among thousands. The two reconcile after the long separation.

During the marathon, Marisol goes into labor and delivers her baby in a delivery van near the café, with Braulio and Andrés present. The frantic delivery eventually reaches the hospital after the marathon traffic subsides.

Braulio wins a scientific fellowship to China, signaling a professional breakthrough and a new opportunity on the horizon. The news hints at a brighter future for Braulio even as the other lives continue to evolve around him.

In the epilogue, Hugo's parents' home is repossessed in Spain, while Hugo and Carla live in Berlin with their extended family—Hakan, Marisol, and their daughter. Andrés's daughter arrives in Berlin to care for her father.