Goalkeeper Josef Bloch is sent off after committing a foul during an away game. This causes him to lose his bearings, and he wanders aimlessly through the city streets and spends the night with the box-office attendant of a movie theatre.

Regina Steinberg, 40, considers herself a sacrificing wife and mother. Everyone else thinks she is an egocentric. Her husband loves her anyway - until there is a scandal. When Regina, the wealthy dentist, suspected that her husband, Dr. Julius Stemberger, has a relationship, she puts her friend Nora on him. While Regina is on a spa with her mother, Julius seeks Nora's closeness, and Nora does not permanently fend off his advances. Eventually Regina finds out what is going on behind her back and Nora feels that Regina is not a "fine lady" when it comes to her interests.

Vienna, a few days before the shots in Sarajevo which would trigger what was first called the Great, later simply the First World War: Job seekers from the crown lands flock to the capital of the empire in search of a better life, even if it's the factory hell . A new social class is growing faster and faster, the city overflows with the poor, lower-class workers and the unemployed. Labor fighters can be heard louder, better, clearer, every day. The nobility strongly suspects its end.