The Settlers follows the lives of five siblings, switching between 2001,when the family had just moved into their flat in Berlin, and 2016 when the children have all become adults. After the racially-incited murder of their Turkish-born father, the impoverished Neumanns move around in order to find work. As the children grow up they face hardship and have to overcome their tragic past, while navigating new obstacles. When they are older, another tragic event has each them reflecting on moments in their childhood, realising that they might be repeating patterns as old wounds are reopened.