Hugo Brinkmeyer, a tax consultant, takes his wife Gerda out to the cabaret one evening. There he encounters a potential client, the wealthy businessman Schwidders. A series of mix-ups lead to Hugo being suspected of both incompetence at his job and being unfaithful to his wife.

Set during the rise of the Nazi regime, Elisabeth Maurer and Hans Wieland enjoy successful careers as actors in Berlin. Confident in her career, Elisabeth, who is Jewish, ignores the advice of a colleague to leave Germany in the face of increasing anti-Semitism. Believing that he can protect her if she becomes his wife, Hans convinces Elisabeth to marry him. In the following years, as Hans's caree...

The life story of Friedrich List, an influential 19th century German political economist who developed the liberal nationalist theory of political economy in both Europe and the United States.