Der Schauspieler, Regisseur und Schauspieldozent Raphael-Maria Goldstein entdeckt, dass er nicht aus einer gutbürgerlichen Duisburger Unternehmerfamilie stammt, sondern als Kind adoptiert wurde. Seine leibliche Mutter, die Auschwitz-Überlebende Esther Goldstein, verrät ihm nur zögerlich, wer sein Vater ist: Otto Frank, der Vater von Anne Frank. Er entschließt sich, sein Leben aufzuschreiben. Als er das Manuskript beendet hat, stirbt er. 

Eine Freundin seiner Witwe übernimmt das Manuskript, recherchiert. Nach und nach offenbart sich ihr das Ausmaß dieser unglaublichen Lebensgeschichte: Nichts ist, wie es scheint, aber vieles scheint, als ob es so gewesen sein könnte.

The drama lecturer and director Raphael-Maria Goldstein, who claims to be a half-brother of Anne Frank but grew up in a Catholic environment in Duisburg due to adoption as Norbert Hans Burger, offeres his autobiography for publication.
Descriptions of his encounters with his mother, the Auschwitz survivor Esther Goldstein, and with his father Otto Frank in Switzerland underpin the biographical details. However, after conversations with Goldstein, who dies in 2021 as a result of ALS, and further research, doubts arise. Journalist Anja Scherz, a friend of the widow, investigates and gradually reveals the secret of "Goldstein - A Phantastic Life".
You could also say: a fantasised life. Like many others, such as the blogger Marie-Sophie Hingst, who tragically died by suicide, or the journalist Fabian Wolff, Raphael-Maria Goldstein adopted a Jewish identity and became absorbed in it. Right up to his last wish to be buried in the Jewish cemetery in Cologne, where Goldstein last lived.

For her book, Anja Scherz spoke to professional companions, friends and lovers, such as the Swiss author Ruth Schweikert, who died last year. Gradually, the extent of this incredible life story is revealed during her research: Nothing is as it seems, but much seems as if it might have been. Anja Scherz supplements her biographical search for clues with original extracts from the biography written by Goldstein, including letters that he wrote to his imaginary half-sister Anne Frank. The latter in particular makes the whole tragedy of this "fantasy-prone personality" clear. And so "Goldstein - A Fantastic Life" is both a testimony to a dramatic life and an exciting piece of research.