The Cloud

A malfunction at the nuclear power plant near Markt Ebersberg triggers a mass evacuation across the affected region. The authorities order widespread evacuations and the scene turns chaotic as residents try to flee. Hannah's school is in the danger zone, setting the stage for a desperate day.

With their mother away in Schweinfurt on business, Hannah is left to look after her younger brother Uli. The evacuation complicates their day, forcing them to rely on each other while the emergency spreads. The siblings brace for the unknown as they await further instructions.

Hannah accepts a ride with classmate Lars and his friends to get closer to Schlitz. On the road they listen to the radio, learning fragments of the disaster but not fully understanding what lies ahead. The mood is tense as the group pieces together the gravity of the situation.

Upon arriving in Schlitz, Lars' mother refuses to let them continue riding with him, insisting the family must flee with their neighbors. The teenagers realize that staying put is impossible as the evacuation tightens. They decide to head toward Bad Hersfeld by bicycle, starting a perilous journey.

While the family attempts to escape, Hannah receives a phone call from her mother warning that going to the cellar would expose them to radiation. Instead they depart with neighbors toward Bad Hersfeld, choosing the open road over the shelter. The decision shapes the brutal path the siblings must take.

During the bike escape toward Bad Hersfeld, tragedy strikes as Uli is hit by a car and dies. The loss piles onto the fear and grief already weighing on Hannah. The family still pushes forward, carrying the weight of Uli's body in their memories.

A family with several children helps Hannah reach Bad Hersfeld station, with the father placing Uli's body in a nearby cornfield. On the platform, Hannah must tend to the younger daughters amid the crowd as parents fight their way through. The chaos reflects the wider mass evacuation as people scramble for trains.

Hannah glimpses her friend Elmar in the crowd but cannot reach him amid the panic. As the masses surge, a cloudburst hits the station forecourt and Hannah walks into the fallout, collapsing from the exposure. She wakes later under medical care far from home.

Hannah awakens in a hospital near Hamburg and befriends Ayşe, another girl exposed to radiation. She experiences fatigue and hair loss as the radiation takes its toll. Her body begins to show the first signs of the long struggle ahead.

Elmar comes to the hospital to find Hannah, revealing that he too has been contaminated. His condition is better than Hannah's, but he worries about a bleak future. The two rekindle their bond amid the shared danger.

Aunt Helga arrives to collect Hannah, who learns that her mother has died and was not missing as the hospital had claimed. The revelation doubles the loneliness of Hamburg as Hannah confronts the new reality without her mother. The family’s absence adds to the emotional burden of the evacuees.

Back at school in Hamburg, Hannah is visibly marked by radiation: bald and frail, she faces ostracism from peers. Only Elmar remains close, offering support in the tough new landscape. The social scars are as evident as the physical ones.

Elmar’s family contemplates emigrating to America, but he refuses to leave his homeland, clinging to life despite the radiation. He allows himself to be admitted to the hospital along with Ayşe, showing his resolve to fight the disease. The friendship with Hannah becomes a beacon amid despair.

When the least-radiated Zone 3 opens, Hannah and Elmar travel back toward their homeland to bury Uli in a cornfield. After the burial, they continue onward to Schlitz, with Elmar noting a hopeful moment as Hannah’s hair brushes in the wind from the sunroof. The scene closes their long journey with a bittersweet sense of continuity.