Just when Christl and Hansi are considering a relationship, the 10-year-old Benni breaks into the stables and into their life. The child becomes a case for the youth welfare office. But when his only relative dies and Benni is desperately unhappy in a children's home, Hansi assumes responsibility for the boy and takes him into the Branderhof. Benni feels increasingly at home with the Sandgrubers and a marvellous friendship develops between him and Hansi. Then, with the help of influential friends, the boy is adopted by arch rival Viktoria who is after the land that Benni has inherited, hoping to build the top stage of a huge cableway on it. Whilst Hans even countenances the construction of the cableway, if he can get the child out of Viktoria's clutches and back to the Branderhof, Christl campaigns against the mammoth project and the sacrifice of one of the last natural beauty spots via her local TV station. Hansi and Christl overcome a crisis in their relationship and become more than just ersatz parents for Benni. Together they experience true family happiness.