Cold Feet (2018) Plot Summary & Timeline

Denis, portrayed by Emilio Sakraya, is a young man residing in Munich who finds himself trapped in a cycle of unemployment and petty crime. His domestic life is equally strained; he lives with a single mother who constantly pressures him to secure legitimate employment, and siblings who treat him with a distinct lack of respect. The situation escalates when Denis finds himself heavily indebted to a dangerous gangster named Adam, played by Aleksandar Jovanović. To clear his debts, Adam coerces Denis into a risky mission: breaking into the secluded, luxurious villa of Raimund Groenert (Heiner Lauterbach), a wealthy entrepreneur who is currently recovering from a stroke.

The plan hits an immediate snag because Raimund was discharged from the hospital a day earlier than expected and is now alone in his home. Upon entering, Denis finds the man collapsed on the floor and, in a moment of unexpected compassion, helps him back into his wheelchair. Just as this occurs, Raimund’s granddaughter, Charlotte (Sonja Gerhardt), arrives at the villa. An aspiring police officer, Charlotte was intended to look after her grandfather temporarily until a professional caregiver could be hired.

Due to the timing of his arrival, Charlotte mistakenly believes that Denis is the hired nurse. Fearful of exposure—especially since a police officer who is a friend of Groenert is also on the premises—Denis decides to play along with the deception. While Charlotte is fooled, Raimund sees through the ruse immediately. However, because his stroke has left him unable to speak, he is forced to engage in a silent, tactical battle of wits against the intruder. The situation becomes even more precarious when a violent snowstorm slams the region, effectively trapping Denis inside the villa and making any attempt at escape impossible.

As the days pass, a complex cat-and-mouse game unfolds between Denis and Raimund. Despite the tension, Denis begins to develop genuine feelings for Charlotte. He attempts to warn her about her selfish boyfriend and helps her bridge the emotional gap with her grandfather, whom she has not seen in a decade. During this time, Denis tries to contact Adam to explain his situation, but the gangster dismisses him, believing that Denis has simply fled town.

The facade eventually crumbles when Denis manages to get the house’s power generator working again. This allows Charlotte to listen to a voicemail from the actual professional caregiver. Realizing the truth, she knocks Denis unconscious, leading to a full confession. However, since the snow still blocks the roads, the three form an uneasy truce. When the roads are finally cleared, Denis prepares to return to Munich, but not before leaving Charlotte with a box of gifts from her grandfather, proving that Raimund had never stopped thinking about her.

As Denis is hitching a ride with a snowplow driver, he spots Adam and his bodyguard heading toward the villa. He realizes that Adam overheard his previous phone calls and is coming for the contents of a safe in the house. Rushing back to save them, Denis finds that Charlotte and Raimund have already been taken hostage. In a tense confrontation, Denis uses sign language to communicate with Raimund and obtain the safe’s combination.

The conflict reaches a climax when Adam kidnaps Charlotte and locks Denis in the basement. In a surprising turn of events, Raimund manages to free him. The unlikely duo, now armed with a shotgun, pursues the criminals across the snow on skis. Following a crash between the kidnappers and a snowplow, Denis successfully rescues Charlotte, though he is shot during the struggle. In gratitude for his bravery, Charlotte and Raimund choose not to press charges for the initial break-in.

The story concludes some time later at the hospital. As Denis is picked up by his mother and siblings, he is relieved to learn that his mother negotiated a sentence of three months of community service instead of prison time. However, his relief is short-lived when he discovers the specific nature of his punishment: Charlotte and his mother have coordinated to ensure that Denis continues his employment as Raimund’s permanent caregiver.