From the first day in his new parish, preacher Andreas Tabarius is late, as devoted father of four doting, motherless sons. Andreas also faces an unusual challenge: local brat Paula (10) demands 'church asylum', claiming she can't stay at home, without details. While the brothers are practically left to themselves, which the youngest take hardest, Andreas stands up to the bossy, prejudiced vestry chairwoman, finds out Paula is really worried about her family and finds a way out. He also advertises for a parish secretary, and seriously considers a most unconventional, ...

Preacher Tabarias test his Savior's parish's charity further by hiring as part-time 'vicar' ex-con Stefan Vieweger, an armed robbery ex-con who converted and studied theology in jail. Even Andreas can't help implicitly suspecting him when the mass collection goes missing. Only secretary Katharina has an alternative suspect, worse to the unbelieving father: kid son Jacob, who misses his late mother and seeks suspiciously lavish candy comfort for his brother's bickering. Firstborn Likas accepts to defer moving out as med student to help control his brothers' unruly ...

*Preacher Andreas lectures unimpressed second son Thom over using is allowance to play bank, but finds the 'userer' philanthropic. Katharina finds homeless Petra Schütte at her shop and blatantly demands Andreas takes her into the rectory guest room, which he only does when his eldest sons insist. What Jacob mistakes for a miraculously weeping crucifix is alas a leaky church roof. Andreas tempts to appeal to Petra' rich sister to help out with both expensive problems, finding the key in confronting the tragic death of the sisters' 'shared' love.

Preacher Andreas Tabariusfears that second son Thomas's impish secrecy covers up an unsafe sex life, especially when his school mate girl friend Sophie Bahlers asks help with her pregnancy. It turns out the father is third classmate Dalan Celik, whose immigrant parents Sophie's lawyer parents look down upon enough to demand an abortion. Meanwhile the sons plot to get Andreas off their backs by overcoming his reluctance to date again with Thomas's teacher or the parish secretary.

Andreas's firstborn Lukas brings home his new girl friend, fellow med student Denise Heitkamp, who seems fascinated by the preacher, who is flattered but otherwise parish-concerned, yet she loses interest in Lukas. Youngest son Jacob goes in grumpy mourning mood after declaring his cuddly troll Potti is dead after Lukas accidentally sat on him. The doctor believes he needs therapy and/or another non-kin confident for the lingering trauma of mother's death. Widowed parishioner Denise Heitkamp sells off his belongings to move out of town. Andreas thinks of combining two...

The Tabarius family is surprised when firstborn Lukas presents his adult girl friend 'Meike' at the breakfast table. For Andreas it becomes a conscience problem when he finds she's really Jana, wife of Peter Sender, whose request he already accepted to formalize their impending divorce in church, against objections given the sacrament's divine nature, risking hierarchical sanctions. Furthermore, the break-up grounds seem dubious and another secret may change things. Jakob is devotion-inspired by a Muslim classmate.

Jacob decides his classmate's sick guinea-pig needs divine assistance, so they sneak it into the Lutheran service. When it escapes there, the vestry fears the preacher is planning 'papist' animal blessings. Andreas locks horns with Johannes, who is determined to help adopted classmate Susanna find pit about her biological mother, although the parish is legally bound to secrecy, but the rascals break into his birth registers archive. Lucas suffers more romantic deception.

The elder Tabarius sons make fun of Andreas's worrying over last-born Jacob leaving in his first overnight school trip. Katharina Marquardt's recently widowed friend Doro seeks comfort with widower Andreas and refuses to set straight the instant rumor they were intimate. Thus upsets the whole parish, enough to ask regional church president Voigt to reconsider his appointment and war veteran Werner Domkirch and his wife Sieglinde who intend to catch up with church wedding.

Johannes' faith crisis challenges Andreas, both as father and as preacher. Brothel barmaid Britta Singer's request for an adult baptism puzzles Andreas, who confronts her pimp-lover Leander Jabach, even by fist, and gets closer to parish busybody Constanze Abels.

Little Jakob is shocked and out for vengeance after his three big brothers pretend he's just adopted. Ralf Binder cancels his wedding plans in Tabarius's church when he hears the name of sexton Willi Kockelkorn, from Hamburg like him. His fiancee clarifies that's his ever-absent biological father. Andreas hopes to smooth everything by asking Willi to babysit his four sons while he and Katharina (center of jealous scenes whether she, Sabini or her underling Urte gets the honor) attend a fancy church celebration in Cologne, but the rascals quickly turn his old-style ...