The old, sickly Demeter Lapussa is a tyrant in the family. He forces his granddaughter, the beautiful Henriette, to marry baron Hátszegi, although the girl loves the penniless Vámhidy Szilárd. The two lovers attempt to commit suicide, then are torn away from each other.

In the thirties, the poor living by the Romanian-Hungarian border were forced to smuggle if they wanted to survive. Mihály, a Hungarian peasant, kills a border guard while fleeing. He is fed up with smuggling and wants to put an end to it, yet he needs money to get a job, so he embarks on another turn.

An aging Casanova, long dead, is resurrected when factory heiress Susanne Hilmer’s longing brings him back as the modern “Knight Heinrich Holanden,” only to trail a trail of broken hearts, from Susanne and her sister Margarete’s suicides to would-be lovers Ninette and the Countess, before he’s grievously wounded and cared for by the pure-hearted Baroness Livia. When Livia, the only woman he ever truly loves, takes her own life in shame, Casanova, heartbroken, returns to his tomb, closing the door on his final, unfulfilled passion.

On the eve of World War II, Major Benedek Zoltán is an embodiment of the service regulations in the army. He only discloses his feelings towards Anna, his brother's widow. An investigation is conducted in the regiment to identify Communists.

Lugosi works in the locomotive factory, earning little. He does not feel at ease in the world. One reason for his discontent is that his wife - a tractor factory worker - earns more than he does, and another is that she has even had her innovation accepted, while his has not. And because trouble doesn't come alone, poor Lugosi gets involved in a sabotage case.

Set in the "Golden Era" of the wandering Hungarian theatre troupes. Mariska and Liliomfi fall in love without suspecting that Mariska's foster father, Professor Szilvay, is also Liliomfi's uncle. Soon the couple must contend with the professor's plan to make Liliomfi give up his "unrespectable" profession of acting by exposing the professor's hypocrisy, greed, and tyrannical selfishness.

Dani, the few-month-old little boy born outside marriage is left by Eszter in the lap of her companion on the train. The widowed Aranka takes him willingly to her. The child is already ten years old and has a good life with Aranka. Then Géza enters their life and he does not welcome the child of someone else.

Feri Noszty forges bills of exchange, which is an unforgivable sin in his circle. The family, to pay the debt and save the boy's honour, cash in their only fortune by marrying Vilma, Feri's sister, to a wealthy man. But this will not save Feri, who must resign his commission as an officer. He gets a job as a magistrate, but the income does not satisfy the young man's needs. All that is left is a good marriage and a huge dowry.