6 middle-aged Viennese manual laborers confront their country's past over the last 30 years. In 1972, these people responded to a radio survey. Now they meet in the studio to hear what they said then about their wishes, dreams and hopes for the future. In the meantime, their country embarked upon a journey characterized by the socialist ideals of the ruling SPO. These laborers look sceptically upon the years that passed, which eventually rid them of most of their illusions. Complementing the various testimonies is a colourful collage documenting the changing spirit of the times. Fragments of period newsreels, popular musical clips, television commercials, amateur shots and election propaganda songs create a story of social euphoria which was largely based on idealism and which - artificially cultivated from above - gradually came into conflict with reality.