Petra Von Kant has been left deeply scarred by her recent divorce and, though a successful fashion designer, she has moved in with her assistant, a woman she dominates without pity or compassion. Enter Karin, a pretty young woman that Petra becomes obsessed by, but when their fledgling relationship collapses Petra dives into an oblivion of embittered neurosis. One of Fassbinder's most controversial films, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant is a striking piece of new wave cinema.