Kiez

Set in Hamburgs Hells Kitchen a waterfront milieu of gangsters pimps dealers and prostitutes the story follows the attempts of an exseaman first to insinuate himself into the scene and then to extricate himself from it He becomes a smalltime pimp sending his naive girlfriend out onto the streets thinking she is financing their middleclass future When he becomes involved with an old pal Nil he increases his criminal portfolio But when he steals Nils girlfriend and things heat up he leaves for his sisters middleclass home in Berlin where his attempts to fit in are doomed from the start Returning to Hamburg he starts a rapid decline that delivers him into the waiting arms of Nil whose revenge is merciless