Trama

Frank Ripploh is a rascal: he is a shaggy-haired, bearded teacher who is gay and has a very active sex life plus an interest in making films. He keeps his personal life separate from his personal life, though sometimes he corrects student papers in public toilets as he waits to score. He cruises constantly. One evening, he meets Bernd and they become lovers. Bernd is attentive and caring, but Frank gets bored with him and continues his polymorphous perverse ways. How long will Bernd and Frank tolerate each other's habits, and how long can Frank keep his sexual orientation outside of the classroom? Things "come to a head" (no pun intended) during Berlin's annual Queen's Ball and the morning after.—C W

West Berliner Frank tries to keep his professional and personal life separate. During the day, he is Herr Ripploh, a dedicated public-school teacher who tutors on the side. He likes his students and fellow teachers, but he only does the mandatory functions required of him. At night and on weekends, he's known as Peggy to his friends. Peggy/Frank is gay and always on the prowl for anonymous sex, often in public places. The one thing he does that blurs the professional and the personal is to mark his students' homework while he's sitting in public-toilet stalls waiting to meet men for sex. When he meets movie-theater clerk Bernd, at first he's just the latest in a long string of one-night stands, but Bernd quickly moves into Frank's flat and the two talk of their future together, maybe on a farm. But despite loving Bernd, Frank feels restless and continues his quest for anonymous gay sex. Bernd knows that Frank is still having sex with other men; he doesn't much like it but he knows he can't stop Frank from doing it. Even a hospital stay, the result of his risky sexual behavior, doesn't stop Frank from cruising public washrooms. But fight after fight between the two, the latest following the annual Queen's Ball, makes Frank evaluate his life in all its components.—Huggo