The film will piece together a complex mosaic of individual destinies influenced by the technology enabling the transfer of skills (skill shots). Each story deals with the consequences that the use of skill transfer capsules has on the lives of the protagonists. The skills have a way of opening up new worlds with unfathomed possibilities for the characters and their families, yet sometimes inspire events leading to their doom…
One of the stories is about a wealthy couple who uses skill shots to mold their young son, Daniel, into a status symbol, presenting him at social events as a musical prodigy. In the process, they turn a blind eye to the damage the skill transfer technology is causing their son while at the same time his natural talent goes undetected.
In another story, Professor Brenger, a renowned author, attempts to prove to the world in a cynical experiment that taking even the best writing skill shots will not be sufficient to write a best-seller or an interesting book. Brenger selects a simple janitor named Albert as the guinea pig to be given his writing skills for the duration of the 90-day experiment. In this period, Albert finds his muse in Emma, the pretty cloakroom attendant, who becomes his inspiration and the hero of his novel. How will the experiment influence these three lives and will it make an interesting book?
At the same time, Ernst Renner, a former Olympic boxing champion, is facing financial ruin and the prospect of losing his boxing gym. Against his own better judgment and the advice of his young protégé, Kayhan, he decides to sell his skills to an unscrupulous criminal. This starts a chain of events driving Ernst into a corner from which he can no longer escape. In the process, Kayhan will also meet with a choice destined to change his own life forever.
The skill transfer technology has an impact on lives from all echelons of society. Anna and Benjamin, two teenagers from struggling poorer classes, break into the lab of a company that produces skill shots. In a private retreat, they consume the stolen skills, and lose themselves in acrobatics, dance, music, and painting, becoming intoxicated by the newfound artificial proficiency in these skills. Benjamin remembers being bullied by Hans, and with another quick skill shot becomes enveloped in his own dark side. He consumes a dose of boxing skill and leaves Anna to exert his vengeance on Hans. After beating Hans to a pulp, Benjamin suffers a seizure brought on by a skill overdose and ends up in the hands of the police.
Elsewhere Serhan, an illegal Turkish immigrant working as a plumber in Vienna, is struggling with the realization that his wife’s illness has taken a definite turn for the worse. Confronted with the idea of losing his wife and becoming a single parent to their young daughter, he comes to a desperate decision: with the help of a surgical skill shot, he will attempt to save his wife’s life. However, making this drastic choice will mean risking the life of his daughter.
