As Long as We love

Dr. Miriam Herzfeld is a game biologist, veterinary surgeon and behavioural scientist. In Canada, where she has lived for years, completely secluded from civilization, she has built a game reserve mainly for bears and wolfs. Like many other refugees from civilization she's suffering from a deep trauma, a secret pain. When the Berlin Zoo - after all quite an institution - newly advertises the position for the senior veterinary surgeon at the zoo, Miriam applies for this job and leaves Canada.

At the same time on the streets of Berlin: Wild seventeen year old Gabriel rushes into the zoo to escape from some drug dealers he ripped off. Gabriel hates the world and most of all his father, the zoo director. However, he allows Karl, senior zookeeper of the bears' territory, to provide him with a hiding-place. Karl is a "bear" of a man who is afraid of people and who has magical powers in dealing with his animals. He tries to tame the difficult Gabriel, just like his bears. Karl knows who Gabriel is but he doesn't betray him.

Zoo director Professor Zondek takes a first tour with his famous and very unconventional new zoo veterinarian Miriam Herzfeld.

A meeting between her and Karl takes place - a shock for both of them. Karl and Miriam live at the zoo, there's no getting away from it. Yet it takes a while for them to face their joint past. A painful emotional process begins for these two proud loners because Miriam and Karl used to be a team and lovers. Work and love were inextricably linked.

They worked together in the Canadian wilderness, loved their son David more than anything. Until the day David was torn to pieces by a bear due to Karl's violent temper and a chain of unfortunate events. Neither of them ever got over David's death and they went their separate ways. Miriam's trail was lost in the Canadian woods, Dr. Karl Sellinger - now working under a false name - became a bear keeper at the zoo. He's still waiting for the bears to give him "an answer" to the tragedy in his life ...

In young Gabriel Miriam and Karl see a chance to turn back the clock on their lives. They try to awaken love in Gabriel - love for nature, for animal watching, for the thinking and feeling of his fellow creatures.