In the early '90s, the German left-wing politician Petra Kelly was shot in her sleep by her lover Gert Bastian, an ex-Nato general who later turned the gun on himself. The news of the murder-suicide rocked the German nation, with the news media speculating on various motives behind the tragedy, with theories ranging from jealousy to an espionage plot involving the Chinese and the atomic energy lobby. Swiss director Thomas Imbach was not convinced by any of this, for it was clear to him that Petra was partially responsible for her own death. Several years later, wishing to explore this notion, Imbach set out to make Happiness Is a Warm Gun, a fantastical biopic that begins where the life of Petra Kelly ends. The setting is purgatory (which looks exactly like an airport), where Petra (Linda Olsansky) is found waiting to take flight to a spiritual eternity. Gert (Herbert Fritsch) appears on the scene a moment later and ... begins Petra's investigation into their demise.