Three university students—Tom from New Zealand, Jake from Oklahoma, and Luise from Berlin—have discovered a crucial message from the German novelist Theodor Fontane on the future of humankind, deposited in the Glass Mountains of Oklahoma. The three meet at a lake near Berlin associated with Fontane, Lake Stechlin, to discuss their U.N.—supported research with TV news reporters, who suggest they turn their findings into a manifesto. The students then explore the lake and witness some extraordinary phenomena.

On their way back, they are blocked by two strangers who say they are determined to stop their manifesto from getting out to the public. The students then realize that the lake was warning them to seek refuge on the other side of the world. They travel to a remote part of New Zealand—Snake Point—to write the manifesto. However, soon they become aware that the two strangers they met at Lake Stechlin have found them. The two men then make a series of attempts to ambush and eliminate them. With the help of supportive neighbors and wildlife, will the students manage to outwit their opponents and emerge with a successful manifesto?