When Hamburg ship's mate Klaus Brandt catches a thief one night at the port, his downfall is pre-ordained. For the thief turns out to be a young, attractive woman and the otherwise upright sailor allows her to slip away. Jenny is the star of a local dive bar, with a side-line in smuggling.

A melodrama about a painter who is infected with syphilis, refuses treatment, turns to the use instead of narcotics, and withers away.

An ill-fated love affair between a brothel waitress and a doctor's son.

American businesswoman Muriel falls in love with an impoverished nobleman who is too proud to reciprocate her advances. Disappointed, she then succumbs to the persistent pursuit of a fortune hunter who is only after her. The fortune hunter's girlfriend becomes jealous, and to distract her, he persuades the impoverished nobleman to court his girlfriend. This, in turn, makes Muriel jealous, and so, in the end, the right couples are finally brought together.