The four sailing school cadets Gerhard, Fritz, Kurt, and Christian are close friends; there's hardly anything they don't do together. But when the charming Gerhard begins a romance with Charlotte, his comrade Christian's childhood sweetheart, a shadow falls over their close bond. Then, when the four young men are involved in an accident during a nighttime trip on the school ship's pinnace, their friendship is put to another severe test. While three of them manage to raise the money for the repairs, Kurt, unable to contribute his share, lies to his comrades, claiming he has already put the money into the communal kitty.