One spring morning Bettina Melker proposes a surprise visit to her widowed father to her two siblings. He turns 77, in October, on bank holiday. In the months leading up to the celebration, the tensions in the lives of the ageing children become more intense – as if they had to give an account to a watching eye. But eventually they travel to tranquil Westphalia with their partners or the dog – and with some self-doubt. What keeps families together? How to measure a successful life? …