Hungary, 1925. A young lieutenant of the Hungarian army Fröhlich falls in love with his captain's sister, Vilma Horn. While his superior agrees to the marriage, the girl's father has other plans, as the family estate is essentially bankrupt and can only be saved by Vilma's marriage to a rich American of Hungarian origin. So the father asks the young lieutenant to break off the engagement, which the young man dutifully does. But Vilma's brother has no idea about the state of affairs and challenges the young lieutenant to a duel for seemingly betraying his sister...