Set in 2004, the story follows three passionate young anti-capitalist activists navigating the heart of Berlin: Jule (Julia Jentsch), her boyfriend Peter (Stipe Erceg), and his close friend Jan (Daniel Brühl). Jule, a dedicated waitress, is engulfed in a €100,000 debt stemming from an accident a year prior where she accidentally collided with a luxurious Mercedes-Benz S-Class owned by the affluent businessman Hardenberg (Burghart Klaußner). Following her eviction due to unpaid rent, she seeks shelter with Peter and Jan, who seem to be always out and about.
While Peter is off in Barcelona, Jan reveals to Jule that he and Peter engage in what they consider "educational" acts against the upper class, breaking into their homes, rearranging their possessions, and leaving behind messages such as >"die fetten Jahre sind vorbei" ("the days of plenty are over") and "Sie haben zu viel Geld" ("you have too much money"). Intrigued by this, Jule persuades a hesitant Jan to join her in breaking into Hardenberg's home in the upscale suburb of Zehlendorf while he is away on a business trip.
During this audacious act, an unexpected thrill leads them to share a kiss; however, Jan soon departs, prioritizing his friendship with Peter. As Jule meanders outside, she inadvertently triggers the floodlights, prompting a hasty escape. The following day, when Peter returns, neither Jule nor Jan reveals the previous night's escapades. Later, realizing her phone is missing, Jule and Jan return to the house that night to search for it. Their plans take a turn when they encounter Hardenberg, leading to a struggle where Jan intervenes and knocks him unconscious with a flashlight.
Faced with the dilemma of their captive, the trio decides to transport Hardenberg to a secluded cabin owned by Jule's uncle in the serene Austrian Alps near Jenbach, overlooking the tranquil Achensee. Here, as they contemplate their next steps, they uncover Hardenberg's radical past; he was formerly a prominent leader in the Socialist German Student Union during the 1960s. The evolving dynamics of their relationships become central, especially as Peter and Jan grapple with Jan's burgeoning romantic interest in Jule.
Realizing their initial choice to kidnap Hardenberg was misguided, they ultimately choose to return him to his home and set him free. As they prepare for departure, Hardenberg gifts Jule a letter forgiving her debt and assuring her that he will not involve the authorities. The film’s climax reveals the trio asleep in the same bed as a team of heavily armed police (Spezialeinsatzkommando) approaches their flat and knocks on the door. Jule stirs awake at the sound of the knock, only to find the police breaking into their nearly vacant apartment. In a twist, while in Barcelona, Jule is met by a hotel maid ready to clean their room, leaving an intriguing note behind in the Berlin apartment: >"Manche Menschen ändern sich nie" ("some people never change"). Meanwhile, the original German ending shows the Edukators taking to Hardenberg's boat in the Mediterranean, presumably aiming to disrupt the signal towers powering much of Western Europe's television programming.
