This sauce has it all: fiery red tomatoes, chili, garlic - spicy and exciting, served hot and sounding exotic: All' Arrabbiata - a spaghetti sauce as spirited as chef Marco (Thomas Lehmann). He has just come out of prison, served a few years there in place of his brother Frankie (Aleksandar Jovanivic), in whose name the concession for the joint trattoria runs. And Marco's whole heart is attached to the trattoria - to cooking. In the meantime, Frankie has turned the charming restaurant into a bust. The landlord, real estate shark Nicolaisen (Peer Jäger), is already lurking for his prey. Marco's first walk out of jail leads him to a posh restaurant. Here his eyes meet those of Anna (Stefanie Schmid) - Nicolaisen's daughter, of all people. She, too, is a passionate connoisseur with a powerful appetite for sweets, a hunger for life, very high standards and a blocked credit card. Marco pays her bill with his last money and disappears gentlemanly without a word.

Disillusionment at the trattoria: no guests, except for a few loitering poker players who rob Marco's brother. The ex-lover (Soraya Gomaa) has started an affair with the brother, who now has to confess his oath of disclosure to Marco. Everything is lost. But Marco does not give up. With the last few bucks he goes to the wholesale market hall, and with Marco's cooking skills, pepper comes back into the kitchen. And Anna comes, too. Marco cooks up a heavenly meal for her. Of course, the two epicures fall in love with each other. From then on, tender seductions alternate with fiery passion, heated arguments and the reconciliation espresso for dessert. When Anna learns that Marco's ex is pregnant after a night of drinking, the lid falls off the pot. Her jealousy boils over. Anna is determined to spoil the soup for Marco and his rival...