Christoph Waltz plays the role of Markus Dorn, a young man clearly unhappy in his home life. His mother has a boyfriend he does not like, and she has chosen her paramour over her son’s happiness. Markus comes in late one evening, and in what is clearly one of many arguments, he antagonizes his mother who accuses him of being on drugs. She calls the police as the argument escalates, and they take him from his bed to the police station where his refusal to cooperate ends up with him being sent to an asylum for being mentally unbalanced.