Alexander Schonath is an exceptionally gifted musician who plays first violin in a philharmonic orchestra. But when the orchestra runs into financial difficulties, Alexander is the first to leave and join a dance band – the other musicians, especially his father, see him as a "deserter." In Alexander's absence, his younger, perpetually sickly brother Hans makes a career in the philharmonic and becomes engaged to Maria, the daughter of the orchestra's chairman, Herbert Hartwig.