Throughout his life, Theodor Fontane was fascinated by women whose lives went beyond the socially prescribed paths. He created a literary monument to some of them in his books.

Robert Rauh traveled to original locations to investigate the fate of five of these women. He visits the castles Zerben and Benrath, where the “real” Effi Briest once loved and lived. He follows the still unsolved case of Grete Minde, who was cruelly executed in Tangermünde. He moves into the villa of Fontane's daughter Martha in Waren an der Müritz. And he travels to Köpernitz and Hoppenrade, where Karoline de La Roche-Aymon and the legendary "Herb's Daughter" became entangled in affairs and intrigues.

On his literary journey of discovery, Rauh unearths previously unknown details and, with his five portraits of women, proves that real life often surpasses poetry in terms of trials and tribulations.