In a small town in northern Germany at the turn of the century: The wealthy mayor's daughter Felizitas marries the much older owner of a trading house because her childhood friend and lover, an impoverished shipowner's son who has broken off his painting studies, withdraws from her. Although she soon realizes that her decision to marry is a mistake, she initially refuses to follow the voice of her heart until a scandal leads to the lovers' eventual happiness. A conventional melodrama, at least well acted.