Carla Nowak 29 yaşında bir lisede matematik öğretmenidir. Kendisini meslektaşlarından ayıran en önemli özelliği ise idealizmidir. Arka arkaya yaşanan hırsızlık olayları okulda huzuru kaçırırken Türk bir öğrenci hırsızlıkla suçlanır ve Carla bu olayı araştırmaya karar verir.
In The Teachers' Lounge, Carla Nowak (Benesch), a dedicated sports and math teacher, starts her first job at a school. She stands out among the new staff because of her idealism. When a series of thefts occur at the school and one of her students is suspected, she decides to get to the bottom of the matter on her own. Carla tries to mediate between outraged parents, opinionated colleagues, and aggressive students, but is relentlessly confronted with the structures of the school system. The more desperately she tries to do everything right, the more the young teacher threatens to break.