Murat is a Berliner, a Turk and a closeted gay teen. Hungry for experience — and eager to flee the domination of his big brother Osman, who declares that men who love other men are a disgrace — 16-year-old Murat secretly cruises the parks at night in hopes of making contact with others of his kind. Soon, Murat is caught up in Berlin's enigmatic subculture of Turkish hustlers and cross-dressers, including Lola, a Turkish transvestite singer in a local bar.

Here, surrounded by a small coterie of admirers, Lola is a star. Included in this eccentric band are fellow performers Sisi and Sehrazat, young hustlers Iskender and Bilidikid (Lola's lover), and Friedrich, a German aristocrat who risks losing his social standing because of his passion for one of the Turkish boys.

Lola and Murat become close friends, but Lola is guarding a secret involving Murat's family and his domineering brother Osman that could tear their small world apart. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Murat stumbles upon the bizarre truth about his family and life at home. Old wounds are opened and waves of violence finally push the brothers over the edge.