Baquet, a family man and post-war child, grows up in the "German dictatorial regime" of the GDR – a state he experiences early on as a place of control and restriction. Marked by deprivation and mistrust, he steadfastly follows his own path. Time and again, doors open that are actually reserved for comrades who toe the party line – thanks to smart decisions and the courage to take risks. He succeeds in becoming a graduate engineer, but it comes at a price. Will his long-cherished wish to leave the country be fulfilled? And what does a look at his Stasi file reveal about the history of the "German dictatorial regime"? Fabrice Baquet concisely tells the story of a life between conformity and inner resistance—and of the power to remain true to oneself in a system that wanted to prevent exactly that.