Michael is an insurance broker who lives a quiet, unassuming existence — and who secretly keeps a 10-year-old boy called Wolfgang in his soundproof basement. He
sexually abuses the boy, but otherwise exist in a "peaceful" coexistence mirroring a perverted father–son relationship. In the evenings, after Michael locks the door and closes the blinds, Wolfgang is allowed into the living room for dinner and to watch TV. When in hospital after an accident, Michael is in a hurry to be released and return to Wolfgang. When Wolfgang gets sick Michael digs a grave in the woods, in case Wolfgang dies. However, he recovers. The boy writes a letter to his parents, to be mailed by Michael, but Michael does not send it and lies to Wolfgang, saying his parents do not want him back. Sometimes, he takes the boy on a pleasure trip outside the town, where people do not know Michael. On one occasion, he goes on a skiing trip with friends for multiple days, leaving extra food for Wolfgang, who has water, a toilet, simple cooking facilities and a TV in his room. Seeing that Wolfgang is lonely, Michael promises to bring another child for company. Together they assemble a bunk bed in advance. Michael attempts to abduct another boy by luring him away, but the boy is called back by his father, who scolds him for walking off with a stranger. Michael tells Wolfgang that he did not succeed in providing him a friend. One day, after watching a film in which a serial killer asks his victim if she would rather be stabbed by his knife or his penis, Michael decides to ask Wolfgang the same question, purely because he finds it funny and assumes that Wolfgang will laugh. However, when he asks Wolfgang at dinnertime, he immediately responds with "the knife," making Michael uncomfortable by forcing him to recognize that Wolfgang hates him. Eventually, Wolfgang attempts to escape by throwing boiling water into Michael's face, nearly blinding him, but does not succeed in escaping. Due to the burns inflicted upon him in the attack, Michael takes his car and attempts to seek medical attention but dies when he crashes his car enroute to the hospital. After the funeral, Michael's mother is about to discover Wolfgang when the film ends. ==Cast==