The Thing is Philipp Löhle’s irrefutable proof that there are no more coincidences. World-wide interdependencies – a.k.a. globalization – connect everything with everything. The African farmer Siwa is duped into sustainable methods of cotton cultivation which brings a first success for two young Chinese men's start-up company. But when their soybean trade scheme fails, this has an impact on Romanian hog farmers, which in turn leads to direct consequences on Katrin’s and Thomas’ marriage. Katrin’s antics in front of a webcam are more than just the reason for their marital crisis: they also lead to an unexpected international showdown. And meanwhile, the titular Thing – a cotton boll – travels around the world, bewildered by all the hustle and bustle of mankind.
In times when everything seems connected, and everything that happens seems to have an explanation, the characters are even more driven by their desire for the unexplainable, the magical moment, the great love, and even for the sense of belonging – and thus, they become hopelessly entangled in the global web of causal connections.
