Deutschland 86

Cash-strapped East Germany forms a covert capitalist unit to earn hard currency. Exiled to an Angolan orphanage, Martin Rauch is pulled back by his aunt Lenora into a risky Cape Town arms deal. When he sabotages it on moral grounds, he endangers Lenora and her ally Rose.

Martin wants to return to his son but must help Lenora. He enlists mercenary Gary Banks to move weapons to Angola, paying him with a stolen diamond necklace—unwittingly from a West German spy. Meanwhile, anti-apartheid protests and Alex Edel’s secret romance stir tensions in Cape Town.

Gary Banks betrays Martin and Lenora, plunging them into an Angolan proxy war where Martin is gravely injured and abandoned. Back in East Berlin, his father seeks HVA favor. Tina Fischer faces clinical trial setbacks, while Alex Edel confronts his past and champions the AIDS crisis in West Berlin.

Gravely injured, Martin awakens in the Libyan desert, thwarts a terrorist plot, and escapes. Thomas Posimski airs DDR dissident interviews on West German radio. Lenora faces her choices in Angola, telling Schweppenstette Martin is dead. Schweppenstette rises in HVA, Tina and Christoph consider fleeing East Germany.

Rescued by Brigitte, Martin reaches Europe and is trapped in her Paris apartment, pursued by rival agencies eager for “Kolibri.” She urges him to spy for the BND, but a West Berlin bombing forces him back into the game. Tina is denied exit, grows paranoid, and Alex and Tim dance amid looming terror.

Martin returns to West Berlin, suspected in the Libyan attack. After a chase, he changes his appearance and hides with childhood friend Thomas, confronting questions about his son. Tina and Christoph find help to flee East Germany, while the US demands revenge and HVA fears retaliation.

Tina’s family tries to flee East Germany. Lenora and Rose return to secretly develop ANC tech in Operation VULA, with Fritz’s help. Alex reunites with Tischbier at a West Berlin memorial, sparks flying. Annett, fearing her life’s exposure, intercepts Tina’s family before they reach the West.

Martin maneuvers for a trade to East Germany, proving loyalty to the BND. Tina and Christoph are imprisoned, their daughters in an orphanage. Tischbier reveals he has AIDS; Alex fights for treatment and uncovers secret HVA trials. Meanwhile, Chernobyl radiation spreads across Europe.

Martin returns East to see his son, then follows Lenora to Rostock. He discovers she and Rose plan to use a morale cruise to secretly transport weapons for the HVA. Martin gathers evidence and sends it to Thomas, exposing their scheme.

Lenora is demoted after the cruise scheme is exposed. Alex leads an AIDS awareness demo; Tischbier reveals his HIV. Martin secures West Berlin spots, initially plans to flee with his son, but instead helps the Fischer girls escape. Lenora is arrested; Martin faces a fateful choice.